The Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947
Bare Act
(1) The Council may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act generally to carry out the provisions of this Act, and in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such regulations may provide for -
- (a) the management of the property of the Council and the maintenance and audit of its accounts;
- (b) the manner in which elections referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5 and in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 8 shall be conducted;
- (c) the summoning and holding of the meetings of the Council, the times and places at which such meetings shall be held, the conduct of business thereat and the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum;
- (d) prescribing the functions of the Executive Committee, the summoning and holding of meetings thereof, the times and places at which such meetings shall be held, and the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum;
- (e) prescribing the powers and duties of the President and the Vice-President;
- (f) prescribing the tenure of office and the powers and duties of the Secretary and other officers and servants of the Council;
- (ff) prescribing the powers and duties of inspectors;
- (g) prescribing the standard curricula for the training of nurses, midwives and health visitors, for training courses for teachers of nurses, midwives and health visitors, and for training in nursing administration;
- (h) prescribing the conditions for admission to courses of training as aforesaid;
- (i) prescribing the standards of examination and other requirements to be satisfied to secure for qualifications recognition under this Act;
- (j) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.
(2) To enable the Council to be first constituted, the President may, with the previous sanction of the Central Government, make regulations of the conduct of the elections referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5, and any regulations so made may be altered or rescinded by the Council in exercise of its powers under this section.
(3) Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the regulation or both Houses agree that the regulation should not be made, the regulation shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that regulation.
Simplified Act
(1) The Nursing Council has the power to create rules that are in line with the Nursing Council Act to ensure the Act is implemented properly. Specifically, these rules can cover:
- (a) How the Council will manage its property, keep its financial records, and have its accounts checked;
- (b) How elections mentioned in certain parts of the Act will be organized;
- (c) When and where the Council will meet, how they will conduct their meetings, and the minimum number of members needed to officially hold a meeting (quorum);
- (d) What the Executive Committee is responsible for, how and when they will meet, and the number of members needed for their meetings to be official;
- (e) What the President and Vice-President are responsible for;
- (f) How long the Secretary and other staff can hold their positions, and what their responsibilities are;
- (ff) What inspectors are responsible for;
- (g) What the training courses for nurses, midwives, and health visitors should include, as well as for those teaching these professions and for those training in nursing management;
- (h) What the requirements are for joining these training courses;
- (i) What the standards are for exams and other criteria needed for qualifications to be recognized under this Act;
- (j) Any other details that need to be specified by the rules under this Act.
(2) To set up the Council for the first time, the President can create election rules with the approval of the Central Government. The Council can later change or cancel these rules.
(3) Any rule made under this Act must be shown to both Houses of Parliament as soon as possible. It must be available for review for 30 days, which can be during one session or across multiple sessions. If both Houses decide to change or reject the rule before the next session ends, the rule will only be effective in its changed form or not at all. However, any actions already taken under the rule before it was changed or rejected will still be valid.
Explanation using examples
Imagine a situation where the Indian Nursing Council (INC) decides to update the standard curriculum for nurse training to include advanced patient care techniques that have recently become best practice. In accordance with Section 16 of The Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, the Council would create regulations outlining the specifics of the new curriculum requirements.
These regulations would detail the new course material to be covered, the qualifications instructors must have to teach the new content, and the standards students must meet in their examinations to be recognized as qualified nurses under the updated curriculum. The Council would ensure that these regulations align with the provisions of the Act and do not contradict it.
Once these regulations are drafted, they would be presented to both Houses of Parliament to be laid out for a period of thirty days. If both Houses do not suggest any modifications or annulment during this period, the regulations would be implemented as drafted by the Council. This ensures that the legislative branch has oversight over the regulations set by the Indian Nursing Council.
