10 months on, NMC yet to act against 30 doctors for ‘sponsored’ foreign trips: Report
New Delhi: Nearly ten months after the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) recommended disciplinary action against 30 doctors who accepted free foreign trips to Monaco and Paris worth Rs 1.91 crore last year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has reportedly taken no action.
The doctors allegedly received lavish trips under the pretext of attending medical conferences. A government-appointed committee found that these trips, funded by AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt. Ltd., were in violation of the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), as reported by The New Indian Express on Wednesday.
Despite this, the names of the doctors remain undisclosed, and the NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) has not initiated any disciplinary proceedings.
As per rules, the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which regulates professional conduct and promotes medical ethics, needs to dispose off the complaint within six months. According to the norms, a doctor’s license can be suspended if they are found guilty of violating the code of ethics.
However, RTI activist and Kerala-based ophthalmologist Dr KV Babu said that the EMRB has yet to act on the matter. “The MCI ethics regulations 8.7(ii) stipulates that once the EMRB receives the complaint, it should be decided within a period of six months. However, in the case of the thirty doctors, where there is an allegation of professional misconduct, EMRB is still sitting over it. This is despite the apex committee for pharma marketing practices recommending NMC to take action against the thirty doctors last year on December 23 for violation of ethics regulations,” TNIE quoted Babu as saying.
In its order, the committee also directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to evaluate the tax liability of AbbVie Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of AbbVie Inc.,and take action in accordance with the Income Tax Act, 1961.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
