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The University Grants Commission has notified 33 new and 21 restructured or updated allied and healthcare undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, bringing them within the regulatory purview of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP).
The instrument is the 5th Amendment to the Specification of Degrees issued under Section 22(3) of the UGC Act, 1956 — Notification No. F.21-12/2026(CPP-II), UIN 3/2026, dated 27 August 2026 and gazetted on 31 August 2026.
The notification fixes degree nomenclature, abbreviation, duration and entry qualifications, and creates specialisation-specific masters degrees: nine specialisations in Master of Occupational Therapy, eight in Master of Physiotherapy, four in Master of Medical Laboratory Sciences, three in Master of Medical Radiology and Imaging Technology and two in Master of Respiratory Technology.
NCAHP has released 18 competency-based curricula covering 28 professions and has directed all states and union territories to implement them mandatorily from the 2026-27 academic year, with an option to commence the Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) course.
NCAHP Chairperson Dr Yagna Unmesh Shukla framed the notification as delivering uniformity in course duration, degree nomenclature and entry qualification under a 'One Nation, One Curriculum' mandate.
Received Presidential assent on 28 March 2021 and came into force on 25 May 2021. It provides for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by allied and healthcare professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of a Central Register and State Registers, and adoption of the latest scientific advances. It organises the workforce into 10 professional categories covering 56 recognised professions.
Section 22(1) confines the power to confer degrees to universities established by an Act of Parliament or a State legislature, institutions deemed to be universities, and institutions specially empowered by Parliament. Under Section 22(3), a 'degree' means only what the Commission, with the previous approval of the Central Government, specifies by notification in the Official Gazette — the exact power exercised here.
The template this reform follows for modern medical regulation. Notified on 8 August 2019, it came into force on 25 September 2020, repealing the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and dissolving the Medical Council of India.
The third leg of the same regulatory redesign. In force from 14 August 2023, it repealed the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 and dissolved the Indian Nursing Council, creating National and State Registers on the same model.
Statutory regulator of education and practice for allied and healthcare professions; sets competency-based curricula, degree nomenclature and entry qualifications, and maintains the Central Register. Its Chairperson also chairs the National Allied and Healthcare Advisory Council, on which all Commission members sit ex officio.
Coordinates university education and maintains standards of teaching, examination and research; specifies which degrees Indian universities may award, under Section 22(3) of its Act
State-level councils under the NCAHP Act that maintain State Registers; a professional is enrolled both in the national Central Register and with the council of the state where they intend to practise
Statutory regulator of medical education and practice; superseded the Medical Council of India from 25 September 2020
| Aspect | National Medical Commission | National Nursing and Midwifery Commission | NCAHP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governing Act | National Medical Commission Act, 2019 | National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023 | National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 |
| Came into force | 25 September 2020 | 14 August 2023 | 25 May 2021 |
| Body or law it replaced | Medical Council of India, under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 | Indian Nursing Council, under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 | No single predecessor regulator — allied professions had no central regulator |
| Workforce covered | Allopathic doctors | Nurses and midwives | 10 professional categories covering 56 allied and healthcare professions |
| Register structure | National Medical Register and State Medical Registers | National Register and State Registers | Central Register and State Registers held by State Allied and Healthcare Councils |
| Parent ministry | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
A university in India cannot invent a degree. Section 22 of the UGC Act restricts the power to confer degrees to recognised universities, and Section 22(3) says that a 'degree' means only what the UGC has specified by notification in the Official Gazette, with the Central Government's prior approval. The UGC maintains that list and amends it periodically — this notification is the 5th such amendment. Until a qualification is on the list, a university awarding it is awarding something that is not legally a degree. That is why standardising allied-health qualifications required a UGC notification and not merely an NCAHP circular: NCAHP writes the curriculum and regulates the profession, but only UGC can make the resulting qualification a recognised degree.
Simple Analogy: NCAHP designs the course and decides who may practise; UGC is the registry office that decides which certificates count as degrees at all. Both signatures are needed.
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Statutory Bodies and Regulation; Issues Relating to Development and Management of Health
General Awareness > Acts and Institutions
Health Administration and Regulatory Bodies
General Awareness > National Current Affairs
Health-sector statutory regulators — NMC, NNMC and NCAHP — have appeared repeatedly in UPSC Prelims and Mains governance questions since 2019.
Under the NCAHP Act, an associate, technician or technologist trained to support the diagnosis and treatment of illness, disease, injury or impairment and to implement healthcare treatment recommended by a healthcare professional.
The UGC's gazetted list of qualifications that legally count as degrees, issued under Section 22(3) of the UGC Act, 1956.
The national register of allied and healthcare professionals maintained under the NCAHP Act, mirrored by State Registers held by State Allied and Healthcare Councils.
A curriculum defined by the skills a graduate must demonstrate rather than by hours taught; NCAHP has released 18, covering 28 professions, with mandatory clinical internships.