Dr Abhijat Sheth has been recently named Chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC), the country's top regulating authority for medical education.
Dr Sheth currently leads the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which administers entrance exams for post-graduate (PG) and super-specialisation (SS) medical courses.
Dr Sheth has yet to take over as chairperson of the NMC from Dr BN Gangadhar, who resigned in October but continued to serve in the job because his resignation was not recognised due to a lack of acceptable candidates.
According to insiders, the health ministry had previously forwarded at least two shortlists of candidates to the Cabinet's Appointments Committee, but no one could be selected at the time, The Indian Express reports.
Dr Sheth will continue to lead NBEMS for a few months, as the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025 is scheduled to take place in August. He would eventually exit the body, the sources said.
Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) in a case involving alleged bribery and corruption inside the NMC system.
The case covers the unauthorised disclosure of inspection information, the use of fictitious staff and patients in medical colleges, and the acceptance of bribes to provide special privileges to private entities.
While the FIR does not name Dr Gangadhar, it mentions 34 people, including former University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Dr DP Singh, officials from the Health Ministry and NMC, members of medical college inspection teams, and representatives from several private medical colleges.
