Ranchi, Jan. 28: Students of various medical courses in the state will no longer have to go to Patna to get themselves registered.

The government today constituted the Jharkhand Medical Council (JMC) which will give registration to medical students of Jharkhand.

The council will have 11 members. The duration of the council will be one year. The first meeting will be held on January 30 in which members will elect office-bearers.

Health and medical education secretary Vinod Aggarwal told The Telegraph that three members have been appointed by the state government. They are M.O. Horo (retired deputy director, health and medical education department), S. Haq Nizami (director, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke) and eye specialist B.K. Verma.

“There are two ex-officio members — medical unit presidents of Ranchi University and Vinoba Bhave University. Two representations of Indian Medical Association — Amar Kumar Singh and Ramji Aggarwal — have been included in the council. Besides, there will be a member elected by registered doctors of Jharkhand, a woman member and two members elected by registered doctors residing in Jharkhand,” Aggarwal added.

The council will also give registrations to other higher medical courses run by different medical colleges of Jharkhand.Besides registration, the council will also ensure that code of conduct and medical ethics announced by the Medical Council of India (MCI) are followed. Any complaint made to the MCI will be routed through JMC.

Aggarwal said the council would also look into the problems of doctors and resolve them.

The Indian Medical Association has welcomed the government move.

IMA’s Ajay Kumar Singh said it was delayed but a correct decision. “It is a sensible decision on part of the state government. They should have done it long before. We have been demanding it for a long time. We hope that the council would ensure a better academic and hospital environment,” Singh added.