Indian Nursing Council (INC) 2021

Table of Contents

Indian Nursing Council (INC)- Relevance for UPSC Prelims

GS Paper 2: Indian Constitution- Statutory, regulatory, and various quasi-judicial bodies.

The recent notification of the Indian Nursing Council’s (INC) restricted the 5% reservation for persons with disabilities (PwD) in B.Sc. Nursing courses are only for those with lower limb disability, and that too for the 40-50% disabled.
The Indian Nursing Council’s (INC) notification has come under criticism from a pan-India group of health professionals with disabilities.
The group demanded the following from the Union Health Ministry and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities –
- Repeal of the allegedly discriminatory clause.
- Nurses with disabilities and disability rights activists are involved in the framing of new guidelines.

About Indian Nursing Council’s (INC): It is an Autonomous Body under the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- The Indian Nursing Council (INC) was constituted by the Central Government under the provisions of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 of parliament.
Mandate of Indian Nursing Council (INC): To establish a uniform standard of training for nurses, midwives, and health visitors.
Regulation: The Indian Nursing Council regulates nursing education through prescription, inspection, examination, and certification.
- 91% of the nursing education institutions are private and weakly regulated. The quality of training of nurses is diminished by uneven and weak regulation.

Insufficient Strength: India’s nursing workforce is about two-thirds of its health workforce.
- There are 7 nurses per 1,000 population is 43% less than the World Health Organization norm (India needs 2.4 million nurses to meet the norm).
Structure Challenges of the Nursing Sector in India lead to poor quality of training, inequitable distribution, and non-standardized practices.
Gaps in Nursing Education:
- Vacancy in faculty positions: There are around 86% and 80% vacancies in nursing colleges and schools, respectively.
- Uneven distribution of Nursing institutions: Around 62% of nursing institutions are situated in southern India.

The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill has been prepared by the government to replace the Indian Nursing Council with a new body called National Nursing and Midwifery Commission.
National Nursing and Midwifery Commission: This body would have representatives of the Centre and the states. Its key functions would be-
- To frame policies and regulate standards for the governance of nursing and midwifery education and institutions.
- To provide standards for nursing and midwifery faculty and clinical facility in teaching institutions.
- To frame policies and codes to ensure observance of professional ethics in the nursing and midwifery profession.
- It will also assess and rate different institutions offering courses.