The new regulator replaced the Dental Council of India. india news
New Delhi: In a major change that will impact both patients and dental students, the Center has replaced the Dental Council of India (DCI) with a new regulator, the National Dental Commission (NDC). The new system came into effect on March 19, repealing the old law governing dentistry. The move aims to improve the quality of dental education, keep a close watch on the colleges and ensure better and more affordable dental care for the people.The government has also changed how the system will work. Instead of one body, the NDC would function through three separate boards – one to oversee dental education, one to inspect and evaluate colleges, and one to handle the ethics and registration of dentists. Officials said this would make regulation more focused and accountable.Dr. Sanjay Tiwari has been appointed chairman of the new commission. The Center has also nominated experts to head the three boards.For the public, the greatest impact is expected to be on the quality and availability of dental care. The new commission will set clear standards for how dentists are trained and how institutions operate. It will also work on improving access to basic dental services, an area where shortcomings have been widely reported.Students are likely to see strict monitoring of dental colleges. The institutions will be assessed and evaluated and the Commission will frame guidelines to regulate fees in private colleges. This is expected to bring greater transparency and reduce sharp differences in costs. The Commission will also look into the availability of dentists across the country and promote research to address the shortage and improve services.The National Dental Commission replaces a decades-old system that faced criticism over transparency and delays in reforms. With the new panel, the government is aiming to create a more streamlined and accountable framework that will improve both dental education and patient care.
France deployed Charles de Gaulle – and its accompanying warships – to the Mediterranean in early March, shortly after war broke out in West Asia following American-Israeli attacks on Iran.It has been in the eastern Mediterranean since March 9 in what President Macron has called a “purely defensive” posture in support of France’s allies in the conflict.According to his public profile on the Strava fitness tracking app, the runner ran aboard a ship in the middle of the ocean northwest of Cyprus on March 13, Le Monde newspaper reported Thursday, while satellite images showed the aircraft carrier was in the immediate vicinity at the time. Strava data shows the same person also ran in late February across a bridge from Malmö, Sweden, to Copenhagen, Denmark, where Charles de Gaulle was anchored at the time.The French armed forces told AFP that appropriate measures would be taken if the reports were true, as navy members were regularly reminded about the risk of security breaches using such apps. “The reported case – if confirmed – does not comply with existing guidance,” it added.In 2024, Le Monde reported that bodyguards of Macron, then-US President Biden, and President Putin were inadvertently giving away information about their whereabouts while accompanying them on visits. In 2018, Strava maps showed the locations of US and allied military personnel in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Faithfully follow the directions of the Bombay High Court for filing annual audit report on the status of afforestation, which is to be done before or simultaneously with the 10 year period.Refusing to entertain the appeal against the HC’s December 12 order allowing the project, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said there was no doubt about the public benefit of the project, which would reduce congestion on the Western Express Highway.“The construction of this road is of great importance for the residents of Mumbai. We cannot stop every developmental project, however, it is equally important that the environment and conservation mechanisms are not compromised,” the bench said.Appearing for NGO Vanashakti, senior advocate CU Singh said, “The impugned decision allows diversion of 103.7 hectares of forest land comprising 45,675 mangroves in Malad Creek without any assessment of the environmental and ecological damage caused.”The Supreme Court bench said, “No mangroves should be removed unless public interest is paramount. There is no dispute that the coastal road project connecting Versova and Bhayandar is of utmost public importance.”Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the Supreme Court that to ensure the growth and health of the compensatory afforestation being done near the Tadoba Reserve Forest and the relocation of mangroves and plantations to a location 10 km away from the project site, annual audit reports will be filed for the next 10 years, as per the High Court’s direction.The CJI-led bench said that the annual report will give complete details of non-forest land used for afforestation. “In view of the safeguards included in the Bombay HC order, we see no reason to entertain the appeal,” it said.Explaining the beneficial effects of mangroves, which according to Vanashakti are highly effective in combating pollution and high tides, CU Singh said the approval given to the project by the High Court will allow the proponents to cut down the mangroves even before the Phase-II environment impact assessment and forest clearance.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that along with the project work, compensatory afforestation has already been done on 31 hectares of land.Solicitor General Mehta said the High Court has put strict conditions on the BMC to ensure adequate compensatory afforestation, their growth and survival for at least 10 years.
Noting that the right to travel abroad is an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, Justice Sachin Dutta said that the continued operation of the LOC against the petitioners was an unjustified curtailment of their fundamental right. The HC noted that the investigation against the couple has been pending for more than five years, during which the petitioners have never attempted to evade the process of law and the charge sheet has not even been filed yet.“While this Court is conscious of the complexities arising in investigations involving cross-border financial transactions, the fact remains that the fundamental rights of the petitioners cannot be curtailed indefinitely due to the lengthy and uncertain investigation process… LOC for such an extended period, especially when the petitioners have not been summoned for many years and there is no allegation of non-cooperation, cannot be sustained.”