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Tuesday, November 3, 2026

NMC weighs five-year rotation of HoDs after stakeholder feedback

TNN | Oct 24, 2026, 07.43 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) is considering a revised proposal to rotate heads of departments (HoDs) in medical colleges every five years, instead of the three-year tenure proposed earlier, following feedback from stakeholders.

Under the revised proposal, rotation would be restricted to professors, rather than including both professors and eligible associate professors as envisaged in the draft amendment published in May 2025, M K Ramesh, president of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), told TOI.

Ramesh said the commission had received substantial feedback on the earlier proposal and that valid points raised by stakeholders would be considered. Suggestions included rotation periods of five or 10 years, as well as doing away with mandatory rotation altogether.

The original draft amendment to the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, proposed rotating the HoD post every three years among eligible professors and associate professors, based on seniority. Nearly a year and a half after the draft was published, the proposal remains unresolved.

Ramesh said the proposal would need to be taken up afresh and that the revised draft would be moved shortly. Once initiated, the process would be completed within six weeks, he said.

He did not confirm whether the NMC would invite stakeholders to comment again on the revised proposal or take a decision based on the feedback already received.

The delay had also prompted an RTI application by Dr A N Dattatri, professor and head of the department of pharmacology at Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute, Hubballi, seeking the PGMEB’s detailed note on stakeholder feedback and its views on the proposal. In a reply dated September 16, 2026, the board said the matter was under consideration and declined to disclose the information, citing Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act.

The proposed change could affect how leadership positions are assigned in medical college departments. The five-year rotation plan remains a proposal and has not yet been formally notified.

NEWS TODAY 03.11.2026

3 lakh deposit must for fresh MBBS, BDS intake

03.11.2026 TIMES AHAMEDABAD

Ahmedabad: Gujarat’s Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC) has announced an additional admission round to fill vacant MBBS and BDS seats after the admission deadline was extended to Nov 15.

Students wishing to participate in the new round will have to deposit Rs 3 lakh with the admission committee. Only those who make the mandatory deposit will be eligible for seat allotment. For the first time, a significant number of medical and dental seats have remained vacant even after completion of the regular admission process. With similar vacancies reported in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states, the demand for an extension of the admission deadline was raised before the central admission authorities.

Under the state quota, 56 MBBS and 32 BDS seats will be filled through the additional round. The vacant seats include seven at NHL Municipal Medical College, 18 management quota seats at Namo Medical College and nine seats at Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, including eight ST and one SE category seat. Bhagoday Medical College, Kadi, also has three vacant management quota seats. In the dental stream, 32 seats are vacant across 16 colleges, with Ahmedabad Dental College reporting the highest number of vacancies at six. Eligible candidates have been instructed to complete choice filling by Nov 4.

Students who are allotted seats but decline admission will forfeit the Rs 3 lakh deposit and will have to pay a Rs 10,000 penalty. Candidates who confirmed the allotted seats in a previous round are not eligible. Those allotted seats in the fourth round but who did not confirm their admission are also barred from participating

6 Lakh to leave Chennai per day for Deepavali from Thursday

Transport department secretary L Nirmal Raj said the number of additional buses had been finalised and an official announcement would be made soon.

Government buses are likely to ferry another 1.75 lakh, while private omni buses are expected to cater to the remaining 60,000 passengers.

Photo | Express

B Anbuselvan

Updated on:

03 Nov 2026, 6:27 am

CHENNAI: Around 6 lakh passengers are expected to leave Chennai every day from Thursday ahead of Deepavali, prompting the railways and the state transport department to step up preparations with additional special trains and buses. While Southern Railway has announced special trains to several destinations, the state transport department has increased the daily reservation quota for government buses from 1.35 lakh to 2 lakh.

Based on the carrying capacity of existing public transport services, trains departing from Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram are expected to carry around 3.65 lakh passengers daily. Government buses are likely to ferry another 1.75 lakh, while private omni buses are expected to cater to the remaining 60,000 passengers.

Southern Railway on Monday announced special trains from Chennai to Kanniyakumari, Sengottai, Ramanathapuram, Thiruvananthapuram and other destinations. The state transport department, meanwhile, is finalising arrangements to operate additional special buses from November 5.

Transport department secretary L Nirmal Raj said the number of additional buses had been finalised and an official announcement would be made soon. “The daily reservation quota for TNSTC and SETC buses has been increased from 1.35 lakh to two lakh. Between November 5 and 7, a total of 79,414 passengers have booked tickets so far. Of these, 39,100 bookings were made for November 6 alone,” he said.

He added that besides high-demand routes to the delta and southern districts, there was considerable demand for travel to Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai and other nearby districts. Additional buses would be operated to cater to these destinations, he said.

Around 10,600 buses, including special services, are planned to be operated from the Kilambakkam (KCBT), Koyambedu (CMBT) and Madhavaram (MMBT) bus terminals.

According to official data, 98 trains depart from Chennai Central and another 85 from Chennai Egmore and Tambaram. All trains operating within Tamil Nadu and those connecting the State with other parts of the country are fully booked, with waiting lists exceeding 200 passengers on several services.

A railway official said a train could normally carry up to 1,800 passengers, but the figure rose to 1,900-2,000 during festival seasons, particularly on routes connecting Chennai with Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Tenkasi and Thiruvananthapuram.

In addition to regular services, around 10 special trains will operate from November 5. Advance reservations for these services will open on Tuesday, according to an official statement.

The festive rush hour

183 trains depart from Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram, carrying around 3.6 lakh passengers daily TNSTC & SETC buses. Around 3,400 buses ferry 1.75 lakh passengers daily to various destinations. Around 60,000 passengers travel daily in Private omni buses. Additional services to Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Rameswaram and other destinations from Nov 5.

North Chennai on alert as Murasu nears coast

City records 7.6 cm rainfall; 11 flights cancelled; Thiruvottiyur & Manali may receive heavy overnight showers.

Moderate showers on Kamarajar Salai, on Monday; (inset) people queue outside a Tasmac outlet near Kasimedu fishing harbour, holding umbrellas. Photo | P Jawahar/P Ravikumar

Express News Service

Updated on:

03 Nov 2026, 6:35 am

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Monday put Thiruvottiyur and Manali on alert for heavy overnight rain as Cyclone Murasu approached the south Andhra Pradesh coast, with NDRF and SDRF teams mobilised as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, flight operations at Chennai International Airport were disrupted on Monday, with 11 services cancelled due to adverse weather conditions triggered by the cyclone, according to airport sources.

GCC commissioner GS Sameeran said the cyclone was expected to make landfall between Nellore and Narsapur between 11.30 pm on Monday and 3 am on Tuesday. Though a direct impact on Chennai or Tamil Nadu was not expected, its outer bands could bring strong winds and rain to coastal areas, he said.

“Thiruvottiyur and Manali will be our focus areas. We have instructed our GCC field staff to take precautionary measures. Additional equipment was also being provided,” Sameeran told reporters on Monday.

A 30-member NDRF team from Arakkonam has been stationed at Ramanathapuram in Thiruvottiyur equipped with diving gear, life jackets, lifebuoys and emergency medical equipment. SDRF teams have also been mobilised as backup.

As far as flight operations are concerned, Tiruchy was the worst affected, with four IndiGo flights cancelled, grounding both daily round trips. These were 6E7357 and 6E7363 from Chennai, and 6E7358 and 6E7364 from Tiruchy.

Three flights connecting Chennai and Vijayawada were also cancelled — 6E7304 and 6E7306 arriving in Chennai, and 6E7305 departing for Vijayawada. Rajahmundry and Kadapa also saw two cancellations each, effectively grounding one round trip on both routes. Of the 11 cancellations, five were departures from Chennai and six were inbound flights, airport sources said.

Chennai received an average of 7.60 cm of rain between Sunday evening and Monday morning. All 21 subways remained open to traffic on Monday. A corporation official said minor inundation reported in Thana Street, Mullai Nagar, and Vyasarpadi was cleared during the day.

As of 7 pm on Monday, public grievance portals received 237 complaints of water stagnation, 32 of fallen trees and 144 relating to streetlights. In Perambur, a tree on Sivagnanam Street fell onto the roof of a house and two parked two-wheelers early on Monday, and also damaged a water pipe. Sembium police, fire and rescue personnel and GCC workers removed the tree and cleared the road.

In Abiramapuram, a roadside tree fell on Dr Rangan Road in the wee hours on Monday, damaging a car. In Adyar, a 50-year-old tree got uprooted on First Cross Street in Karpagam Garden and fell on the roof of a nearby house on Sunday night. Corporation workers cleared the fallen trees, and no casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, GCC commissioner GS Sameeran on Monday flagged off 12 vehicles from the Ripon Building premises to carry out immediate repairs to the potholes.

According to a GCC status report, 2,128 potholes and road patches remained to be fixed, as of November 1. The civic body said it had repaired 6,808 potholes and patches by October 31 and allocated Rs 21.80 crore for the work in 2026-27. It has also proposed procuring 13,000 bags of cold mix, weighing 325 tonnes.