BHOPAL (M.P.

SUBJECT: - NURSING EDUCATION

REPORT
ON
INC

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Mrs. C. Gomthi Mrs. Ranu Dehariya
Professor M.Sc. Nursing Ist yr
hod of psychiatric nursing

The Indian Nursing Council is a national regulatory body for nurses and nurse education in India.

It is an autonomous body under the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
constituted by the Central Government under section 3(1) of the Indian Nursing Council Act,
1947 of Indian parliament

Aims

To establish a uniform standard of training for nurses midwives and health visitors. 
Functions

 To establish and monitor a uniform standard of nursing education for nurses midwife,
Auxiliary Nurse- Midwives and health visitors by doing inspection of the institutions.
 To establish and monitor a uniform standard of nursing education for nurses midwife,
Auxiliary Nurse- Midwives and health visitors by doing inspection of the institutions.
 To recognize the qualifications under section 10(2)(4) of the Indian Nursing Council Act,
1947 for the purpose of registration and employment in India and abroad.
 To give approval for registration of Indian and Foreign Nurses possessing foreign
qualification under section 11(2)(a) of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947.
 To prescribe minimum standards of education and training in various nursing
programmes and prescribe the syllabus & regulations for Nursing programms.
 Power to withdraw the recognition of qualification under section 14 of the Act in case the
institution fails to maintain its standards under Section 14 (1)(b) that an institution
recognised by a State Council for the training of nurses, midwives, Auxiliary Nurse
Midwives or health visitors does not satisfy the requirements of the Council.
 To advise the State Nursing Councils, Examining Boards, State Governments and Central
Government in various important items regarding Nursing Education in the Country.
 To regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of Nursing.
 To recognise Institutions/Organisations/Universities imparting Master’s Degree/
Bachelor’s Degree/P.G. Diploma/ Diploma/Certificate Courses in the field of Nursing.
 To Recognise Degree/Diploma/Certificate awarded by Foreign Universities/ Institutions
on reciprocal basis.
 To promote research in Nursing.
 To maintain Indian Nurses Register for registration of Nursing Personnel.
 Prescribe code of ethics and professional conduct.
 To improve the quality of nursing education

Organizational Structure
 President

Vice-President

Secretary

Joint – Secretary

Depty – Secretary

Assistance – Secretary

Office Staff
(Total number of regular employees -21)
(including 1 deputationist ie. Secretary)
Total number of Contractual employees - 49
    Grand Total - 70

Following are the office bearers of the Council: -

President Mr. T. Dileep Kumar

Vice President Dr. Asha Sharma

Secretary Mrs. Ranjeet Kaur

Joint Secretary Mrs. K. S. Bharati -

Committees

 Executive Committee of the Council- To deliberate on the issues related to

maintenance of standards of nursing education programs.

 The Nursing Education Committee- To deliberate on the issues concerned mainly with
nursing education and policy matters concerning to nursing education.

 Equivalence Committee – To deliberate on the issues of recognition of foreign

qualifications which is essential for the purpose of registration under section 11(2)(a)
or (b) of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, as amended.

 Finance Committee/Purchase Committee

 Vigilance Committee

 Departmental Promotional Committee

 Anti Ragging

 There are other various sub-committees constituted by the Council time to time for
revision of various nursing programmes.

Indian nursing council Act 1947

Act No. of Year: ACT NO. 48 OF 1947

Enactment Date: [31st December, 1947.]

Objective: An Act to constitute an Indian Nursing Council. WHERE AS it is expedient to

constitute an Indian Nursing Council in order to establish a uniform standard of training for
nurses, midwives and health visitors.

It is enacted with 17 sections and each section point oout specific legislative role of council.

Section 1 Short title, extent and commencement.

(1) This Act may be called the Indian Nursing Council Act,1947.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force at once.

Section 2 Interpretation.

(a)" the Council" means the 3[Council] constituted under this Act

(b)" prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under section 16

(c)" State Council" means a Council (by whatever name called) constituted under the law of a
State to regulate the registration of nurses, midwives or health visitors in the State ;

(d) "State register" means a register of nurses, midwives or health visitors maintained under the
law of a State.

Section 3 Constitution and composition of the Council.

1 The Central Government shall as soon as may be constitute a Council consisting of the
following members, namely:-

(a) one nurse enrolled in a State register elected by each State Council.

(b) two members elected from among themselves by the heads of institutions recognized by the
Council for the purpose of this clause in which training is given-

(i) for obtaining a University degree in nursing; or

(ii) in respect of a post-certificate course in the teaching of nursing and in nursing

administration;]

(c) one member elected from among themselves by the heads of institutions in which health
visitors are trained;

(d) one member elected by the Medical Council of India

(e) one member elected by the Central Council of the Indian Medical Association

(f) one member elected by the Council of the Trained Nurses Association of India

(k) the Director of Maternity and Child Welfare, Indian Red Cross Society, ex officio;

(l) the Chief Administrative Medical Officer (by whatever name called) of each State other than
a Union territory, ex Officio;]

(m) the Superintendent of Nursing Services (by whatever name called), ex officio, from each of
the States in the two groups mentioned below, each group of States being taken in rotation in the
following order, namely :-
(i) Andhra Pradesh, Assam, 2[Maharashtra], Madhya Pradesh, 3[Tamil Nadu], Uttar Pradesh,
4[West Bengal and Haryana] ;

(ii) Bihar, 5[Gujrat] 6[Himachal Pradesh] Kerala, 7[Karnataka], Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan];

(n) four members nominated by the Central Government, of whom at least two shall be nurses,
midwives or health visitors enrolled in a State register and one shall be an experienced
educationalist (o) three members elected by Parliament, two by the House of the People from
among its members and the other by the Council of States from among its members.

(2) The President of the Council shall be elected by the members of the Council from among
themselves: Provided that for five years from the first constitution of the Council the President
shall be a person nominated from amongst the members of the Council by the Central
Government, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the Central Government.

(3) No act done by the Council shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any
vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Council.

Section 4 Incorporation of the Council.

The Council constituted under section 3 shall be a body corporate by the name of the Indian
Nursing Council having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire
property both movable and immovable, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

Section 5 Mode of elections.

(1) Elections under sub-section (1) of section 3 by State Councils shall be conducted in
accordance with rules made in this behalf by the respective State Governments, and where any
dispute arises regarding any such election it shall be referred to the State Government concerned
whose decision shall be final.

(2) Other elections under that sub-section shall be conducted in the prescribed manner, and
where any dispute arises regarding any such election it shall be referred to the Central
Government whose decision shall be final.

Section 6. Term of office and casual vacancies.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, an elected or nominated member, other than a
nominated President, shall hold office for a term of five years from the date of his election or
nomination or until his successor has been duly elected or nominated, whichever is longer.

(2) An elected or nominated member may at any time resign his membership by writing under
his hand addressed to the President, and the seat of such member shall thereupon become vacant.
(3) An elected or nominated member shall be deemed to have vacated his seat if he is absent
without excuse sufficient in the opinion of the Council from three consecutive meetings of the
Council where the interval between the first and third of the said meetings exceeds six months.

(4) A casual vacancy in the Council shall be filled by fresh election or nomination, as the case
may be, and the person elected or nominated to fill the vacancy shall hold office only for the
remainder of the term for which the member whose place he takes was elected or nominated.

(5) Members of the Council shall be eligible for re-election or renomination.

Section 8. Officers, Committees and servants of the Council.

(1) The Secretary of the Council (who may also, if it is deemed expedient by the Council, act as
Treasurer) shall, for three years from the first constitution of the Council, be a person appointed
by the Central Government and shall hold office during the pleasure of the Central Government.

(2) The Council shall-

(a) elect from among its members a Vice-President;

(b) constitute from among its members an Executive Committee and such other committees for
general or special purposes as the Council deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this
Act ;

(c) subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), appoint a Secretary, who may also. if deemed
expedient, act as Treasurer;

(d) appoint or nominate such other officers and servants as the Council deems necessary to carry
out the purposes of this Act ;

(e) require and take from the Secretary, or from any other officer or servant, such security for the
due performance of his duties as the Council deems necessary;

(f) with the previous sanction of the Central Government, fix the fees and allowances to be paid
to the President. Vice President and members and the pay and allowances of officers and
servants of the Council.

Section 9. The Executive Committee

(1) The Executive Committee shall consist of nine members, of whom seven shall be elected by
the Council from among its members.
(2) The President and Vice-President of the Council shall be members ex officio of the
Executive Committee, and shall be President and Vice-President, respectively, of that
Committee.

(3) In addition to the powers and duties conferred and imposed upon it by this Act, the Executive
Committee shall exercise and dis-charge such powers and duties as the Council may confer or
impose upon it by any regulations which may be made in this behalf.

Section 10. Recognition of qualifications.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the qualifications included in 1[Part I of] the Schedule shall be
recognised qualifications, and the qualifications included in Part II of the Schedule shall be
recognised higher qualifications

(2) Any authority within the States 2* * * which, being recognised by the State Government 1[in
consultation with the State Council, if any] for the purpose of granting any qualification, grants a
qualification in general nursing, midwifery, 1[auxiliary nursing midwifery], health visiting or
public health nursing, not included in the Schedule may apply to the Council to have such
qualification recognised, and the Council may declare that such qualification, or such
qualification only when granted after a specified date, shall be a recognized qualification for the
purposes of this Act.

(3) The Council may enter into negotiations with any authority 3[in any 4[territory of India to
which this Act does not extend] or. foreign country] which by the law of 2[such territory] or
country is entrusted with the maintenance of a register of nurses, midwives or health visitors, for
the settling of a scheme of reciprocity for the recognition of qualifications, and in pursuance of
any such scheme the Council may declare that a qualification granted by any authority in any
2[such territory] or country, or such qualification only when granted after a specified date, shall
be a recognised qualification for the purposes of this Act: Provided that no declaration shall be
made under this sub-section in respect of any qualification unless by the law and practice 3[of
the foreign country] in which the qualification is granted persons domiciled or originating 4[in
India] and holding qualifications recognized under this Act are permitted to enter and practice
the nursing profession 5[in that country]

Provided further that-

(i) any reciprocal arrangements subsisting at the date of the commencement of this Act
between a State Council and any authority outside India for the recognition of
qualifications shall, unless the Council decides otherwise, continue in force, and
(ii) any qualification granted by an authority in a territory of India to which this Act did not
extend at the date of its commencement, and recognised on the said date by the State
Council of a State to which this Act then extended, shall continue to be a recognised
qualification for the purpose of registration in that State.]
(4) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) and of sections 14 and 15 shall apply mutatis
mutandis to the declaration by the Council of a qualification granted in respect of post-
certificate nursing training as a recognised higher qualification.

Section 11. Effect of recognition

7[(1)] Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law,-

(a) any recognised qualification shall be a sufficient qualification for enrollment in any State
register

(b) no person shall, after the date of the commencement of this Act, be entitled to be enrolled in
any State register as a nurse, midwife, 1[auxiliary nurse-midwife,] health visitor, or public
health nurse unless he or she holds a recognised qualification : Provided that any person already
enrolled in any State register before the said date may continue to be so enrolled
notwithstanding that he or she may not hold a recognised qualification : Provided further that
any person who was immediately before the said date entitled to be enrolled in any State register
but was not so enrolled shall, on application made in this behalf before the expiry of two years
from the said date be entitled to be enrolled in that register

(c) any person holding a recognised higher qualification shall be entitled to have the
qualification entered as a supplementary qualification in any State register in which he or she is
enrolled, and after the said date no person shall be entitled to have entered as a supplementary
qualification in any State register any qualification which is not a recognised higher
qualification.

1[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of sub-section (1)-

(a) a citizen of India holding a qualification which entitles him or her to be registered with any
Council of Nursing or Midwifery (by whatever name called) in any foreign country, may, with
the approval of the Council, be enrolled in any State register; and where approval has been
accorded by the Council in respect of such qualification in one case, the approval of the Council
for enrollment in a State register in the case of any other citizen of India holding the same
qualification shall not be necessary ;

(b) a person not being a citizen of India who is employed as a nurse, midwife, auxiliary nurse-
midwife, teacher or administrator in any hospital or institution situated in any State for purposes
of teaching, research or charitable work may, with the approval of the President of the Council,
be enrolled temporarily in the State register for such period as may be specified in this behalf in
the order issued by the said President: Provided that practice by such person shall be limited to
the hospital or institution to which he or she is attached

Section 12. Power to require information as to courses of study and training and
examinations.
 Every authority in any State 1* * * which grants a recognised qualification or a recognised
higher qualification shall furnish such information as the Council may, from time to time,
require as to the courses of study and training and examinations to be undergone in order to
obtain such qualification, as to the ages at which such courses of study and examinations are
required to be undergone and such qualifications conferred, and generally as to the requisites for
obtaining such qualification.

Section 13. Inspections

(1) The Executive Committee may appoint such number of inspectors 2[,whether from among
members of the Council or otherwise,] as it deems necessary to inspect any institution
recognised as a training institution, and to attend examinations held for the purpose of granting
any recognised qualification or recognised higher qualification.

(2) Inspectors appointed under this section shall report to the Executive Committee on the
suitability of the institution for the purposes of training and on the adequacy of the training
therein, or as the case may be, on the sufficiency of the examinations.

(3) The Executive Committee shall forward a copy of such report to the authority or institution
concerned, and shall also forward copies, with the remarks, if any, of the authority or institution
concerned thereon, to the Central Government and to the State Government and State Council of
the State in which the authority or institution is situated.

Section 14. Withdrawal of recognition.

(1) When, upon report by the Executive Committee, it appears to the Council-

(a) that the courses of study and training and the examinations to be gone through in order to
obtain a recognised qualification from any authority in any State 1* * *, or the conditions for
admission to such courses or the standards of proficiency required from the candidates at such
examinations are not in conformity with the regulations made under this Act or fall short of the
standards required thereby, or

(b) that an institution recognised by a State Council for the training of nurses, midwives,
1[auxiliary nurse-midwives] or health visitors does not satisfy the requirements of the Council,
the Council may send to the Government of the State in which the authority or institution, as the
case may be, is situated a statement to such effect, and the State Government shall forward it,
along with such remarks as it may think fit to the authority or institution concerned and, in a
case referred to in clause (b) to the State Council also, with an intimation of the period within
which the authority or institution may submit its explanation to the State Government.
(2) On the receipt of the explanation or, where no explanation is submitted within the period
fixed, then on the expiry of the period, the State Government shall make its recommendations to
the Council.

(3) The Council, after such further inquiry, if any, as it may think fit to make, and in a case
referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1), after considering any remarks which the State
Council may have addressed to it, may declare,-

(a) in a case referred to in clause (a) of that sub- section, that the qualifications granted by the
authority concerned shall be recognised qualifications only when granted before a specified
date, or

(b) in a case referred to in the said clause (b), that with effect from a date specified in the
declaration any person holding a recognised qualification whose period of training and study
preparatory to the grant to him of the qualification was passed at the institution concerned shall
be entitled to be registered only in the State in which the institution is situated.

(4) The Council may declare that any recognised qualification granted outside the States 2* * *
shall be a recognised qualification only if granted before a specified date.

Section 15. Mode of declarations.3[(1)]

All declarations under section 10 or section 14 shall be made by resolution passed at a meeting
of the Council called for the declarations purpose, and shall forthwith be published in the
Official Gazette.

1[(2) The Central Government shall, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette,
amend the Schedule so as to bring it into accord with any declaration under section 10 or section
14.] 2[15A. Indian Nurses Register.(1) The Council shall cause to be maintained in the
prescribed manner a register of nurses, midwives, auxiliary nurse midwives and health visitors to
be known as the Indian Nurses Register, which shall contain the names of all persons who are for
the time being enrolled on any State register.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Council to keep the Indian Nurses Register in
accordance with the provisions of this Act, and from time to time, to revise the register and
publish it in the Gazette of India and in such other manner as may be prescribed.

(3) Such register shall be deemed to be a public document with in the meaning of the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), and may be proved by a copy published in the Gazette of India.

Section 15 (B). Supply of copies of State registers.

Each State Council shall supply to the Council twenty printed copies of the State register as soon
as may be after the 1st day of April of each year and inform the Council without delay of all
additions to, and other amendments in, the State register made from time to time.]
Section 16. Power to make regulations.

(1) The Council may 3[by notification in the official gazette,] 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 power, 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 ;

1[(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 satisied 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 for 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.

2[(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.]