(A Statutory Body Established under the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984.)

Constituting the Council:

THE COUNCIL IS A BODY CORPORATE:

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE VETERINARY COUNCILS- under I.V.C.Act,1984

Whereas Parliament has no power to make laws for the States with respect to regulation of Veterinary practice in States except as provided in article 249 and 250 of the constitution,it extends only to those states who have passed resolutions, in persuance of clause(1) of article 252 of the constitution, to the effect that the matters aforesaid be regulated in those States by Parliament by law. (The Indian veterinary Council Act,1984 in our context). Today, I.V.C.Act ,1984 extends to 24 STATES whose assemblies passed the aforesaid resolution and to all Union Territories.

PRIVILEGES OF STATES/REGISTERED VETERINARY PRACTITIONERS, ON ADOPTION OF INDIAN VETERINARY COUNCIL ACT.

(i) Opportunity of getting the names of Veterinary practitioners enrolled on State Register to be included in the Indian Veterinary practitioners' register as per section 23 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act. 1984.

(ii) Right to practice veterinary profession in whole of India as per section 29 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act,1984. This however, is also governed by other sections specially section 28 & section 52 of the Act.

(iii) Exclusive, right of a registered veterinary practitioner, to hold office (by whatever name called) in Govt. or in any institution maintained by a local or other authority and practise the veterinary profession in any State as per provisions of section 30 of the Act.

(iv) Right to be represented on the Veterinary Council of India as per provisions of clauses (a), (b), (g), (h), and (i) of section 3 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984.

(v) Recognition of Veterinary Qualifications granted by veterinary institutions in the First Schedule to Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984, as per section 15(2) of the said Act.

(vi) Right of admission in Postgraduate veterinary courses in whole of India.

(vii) Right of getting employment in other States as well as recognition in foreign countries.

(viii) Right of getting 50% grant in aid from the Deptt. of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India for administrative expenses of State Veterinary Council.

(ix) Recognition during/ for, further studies in foreign countries by virtue of of veterinary qualifications included in the First Schedule.

CONSTITUTION OF STATE VETERINARY COUNCIL UNDER I.V.C. ACT

The Council shall consist of the following Members, namely:-

(a) Four Members elected from among themselves by veterinary practitioners registered in the State Veterinary Register;

(b) the heads of veterinary institutions, if any, in the State - Ex-officio.

(c) three Members nominated by the State Govt;

(d) Director of Veterinary Services of the State(by whatever name called) - Ex-officio.

(e) One Member to be nominated by the State Veterinary Association, if any.

(f) Registrar of State Veterinary Council-Ex-officio.

A person shall not be qualified for nomination or election as a member of the State Veterinary Council unless he holds a recognised veterinary qualification.

STATE VETERINARY COUNCIL- A BODY CORPORATE

As per the section 35 of the Act, " Every state veterinary council shall be a body corporate by such name as may be notified by the State government in the official gazette or, in case of joint Veterinary Council as may be determined in the agreement, having perpetual succession and a COMMON SEAL, with power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall by the same name sue or be sued."

During the 8th Five year plan the Govt. of India has made provision for payment of 50% financial grant-in-aid to State Veterinary Councils of the States in which Indian Veterinary Council Act stands extended and 100% grant to U.T's Veterinary Councils for meeting the establishment and other expenses of these Councils. The items for which this grant-in-aid can be claimed as per the above scheme are as follows:-

CAPITAL- Land & Building

REVENUE:

Recurring -

1.Pay and Allowances
2. Rent,Rates,Taxes
3.Stationary.
4. P.O.L.
5.Allowances
6. Office Expen and Honoraria.
7.Electricity, Telephone, Water etc
8.Misc./ Contingencies.

Non-Recurring

1. Furniture
2. Staff Car
3. Typewriters.
4. Duplicating
5. Telephone. Mechine.
6. Office Items and Miscellaneous(e.g.Air Coolers,Wall Clock,Room Heaters,Cycle etc.)

POWER TO MAKE RULES BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT.

As per the provision of section 65 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of Chapter VI, VII and VIII of the Act.

In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the manner in which the President of the State Veterinary Council shall be elected under section 36

(b) the manner in which election under chapter VI shall be conducted;

(c) the procedure to be observed by the State Veterinary Councils at its meetings under sub-section (6) of section 38;

(d) the conditions and restrictions with respect of the constitution of Executive Committee and other Committees under section 40;

(e) the fees and allowances for attending the meetings of the State Veterinary Council and the Committees under section 41;

(f) the terms and conditions of appointment of the Registrar, other officers and employees of the State Veterinary Council under sub-section (2) of section 42;

(g) the particulars to be included in the State Veterinary register under clause (e) of sub-section (4) of section 44;

(h) The fee which shall be accompanied by an application for registration under sub-section (2) of section 45 and sub-section (1) of section 47;

(i) The form of certificate of registration under sub-section (5) of section 45 and sub-section (5) of section 47;

(j) the fee payable under section 46, section 50, section 52 and section 54;

(k) the renewal fee under sub-section (1) of section 48;

(l) the manner of payment of renewal fee under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 48;

(m) the charge for supplying printed copies of the State Veterinary Register under section 51;

(n) the form of duplicate certificate under section 54;

(o) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed under chapters VI,VII and VIII.

The State though have made some rules, many of them require to be revamped precisely in conformity to the provisions of the Act for the proper and smooth functioning of the State Veterinary Councils.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE VETERINARY COUNCIL OF INDIA.

The Council office was established in May, 1991. and is for the time being functioning with Secretary, Assistant Secretary and a small set of office staff.

PREPERATION OF REGULATIONS

Regulations are imperative primary instruments with which any council operates, as per provisions of the Act.

The Veterinary Council of India in a short span of time was able to formulate the following five regulations which after legal vetting and other necessary formalities now stands approved by the Govt. of India u/s 66 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984. The Council got them published in the Gazzete :-

V.C.I. - (GENERAL) REGULATIONS, 1991. (Notified in Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 425 dated 18th November, 1991 in Part, II Section (3) sub-section (i)).

The regulations provide the procedure to be followed for the functioning of the Veterinary Council of India, procedure to be adopted for business at meetings of the Council, Powers and Duties of President and Vice-President, appointment of Committees, Staff, Management of Property, Finance and Accounts.

V.C.I. - (INSPECTORS' AND VISIOTRS') REGULATIONS, 1991, (Notified in Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 412, dated 12th November, 1991, Part II, Section 3, sub-section (i).)

These regulatios lay down procedure for carrying out inspections and Visitations of Veterinary institutions, hospitals and examinations through Inspectors/ Visitors appointed by the Council to see the teaching facilities available in a Veterinary College and see whether the examinations are conducted properly for the award of veterinary qualification.

V.C.I. - (REGISTRATION) REGULATION,1991. (Notified in Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 24th February, 1992) Part II, Section 3 of sub-section (i).

The regulations lay down the procedure to be followed for registration of veterinary practitioners possessing recognised veterinary qualifications included in the First or Second Schedule to the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984, with the Veterinary Council of India.

V.C.I. - (STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, ETTIQUETTE AND CODE OF ETHICS) REGULATIONS, 1992 (Notified in Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 154, dated 1st April, 1992, Part II Section 3 of section (i)).

These regulations lay down the norms of professional conduct and is aimed at upholding the dignity of the profession. These are to be implemented primarily by state veterinary Councils.

V.C.I.-(FEES AND ALLOWANCES) REGULATIONS,1992.(Notified in gazette of India Extraordinary No, 153 dated 1st April, 1993, Part II, Section 3 of sub-section (i).

The regulations provide for the payment of fees and allowances to the President and other members and the members of the Committees (other than the members of the Council) for attending the meetings of the Council and the Committees.

Besides these the Council has prepared its own STANDING ORDERS, which provides for terms and conditions of service of the Secretary and other officers and employees appointed by the Council.

VETERINARY EDUCATION

The Veterinary Council of India as per the provisions of section 22 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 prepared and gazetted the following regulation :-

V.C.I.-MINIMUMUM STANDARDS OF VETERINARY EDUCATION-DEGREE COURSE (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) REGULATIONS, including Minimum Standard Requirements for a Veterinary College for 60 admission annually.

These regulations are laid down to introduce a Minimum necessary standard for a veterinary institution for imparting training leading to a basic veterinary degree viz.B.V.Sc.& A.H.

NOTE: This REGULATION was the result of an extensive and continuous effort since the inception of the office. First a series of correspondence through a questionaire,requests for suggestion etc. was circulated to all Veteinary institutions, State Directorates, Eminent Veterinarians, Veterinary Administrators. A series of personel and group exchanges, suggestions from eminent Veterinarians/ Educationists from all over the country followed. The data was scientifically scrutinised and presented to Committee, who suggested a frame work.After several deliberations and discussions, a draft regulation was circulated to all State Goverments/ UTs and all veterinary educational institutions of the country imparting training leading to a Bachelor's degree providing them three months time to send their comments. Meanwhile the whole draft was discussed at a work-shop at Madras, where Deans and Senior teachers from all over the country were invited to discuss the regulation over a two day work-shop. The suggestions were scrutinised by a sub-committee on Veterinary Education set up by I.C.A.R. (Ed. Div.). The entire deliberation along with the comments recieved from the State Governments were reviewed by the Executive Committee and the Council. After incorporating all relevant modifications the regulation was sent to Goverment of India, for the necessary formalities , legal vetting and final approval. It now has been approved and stand gazetted.

INSPECTION OF VETERINARY EUDCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

With the approval of the V.C.I.-MINIMUMUM STANDARDS OF VETERINARY EDUCATION-DEGREE COURSE (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) REGULATIONS, including Standard requirements for a Veterinary College for 60 admission annually, the Council is now in a position to discharge one of its major responsibilities viz. Inspection of Colleges for their suitability to award the basic degree in Veterinary science. The Council has already started the process and the colleges/ universities/ Instituitions awrding basic veterinary degree all over india had already been asked to furnish the informations through a `standard information form/ performa'. The teams of inpectors are now being sent to selected colleges and the process of inspection has already begun.

THE POST-GRADUATE REGULATIONS:

The Council is at present considering the Regulations on (Minimum standards of Veterinary education for professional Post-graduate Veterinary Education). For the same it surveyed the various aspects involved including specific manpower requirement. As at present our needs for higher professional qualification is for four categories.

(a) Man power needed to run the under GRADUATE EDUCATION at various TEACHING institutions as per V.C.I. - Minimum Standards of Veterinary Education - Degree Course (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) Regulations

(b) Man power needed to man various HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.

(c) Man power needed to man SPECIALIST SERVICE in veterinary poly-clinics, diagnostic laboratories, Semen Banks, Biological Products, E.T.T. centres, Management of farms, Feed plants, Meat-plants, Surviellence units, Zoos and wild animal centres, enviornment control etc.

(d) Man power needed for the PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATION where orientation on the current development in various spheres of activity and competence to plan, implement and administer Animal husbandry activities is necessary.

The Council in its meeting held on 23rd, March 1993, has approved a broad outline for formulating draft "V.C.I. - Minimum Standards of Postgraduate Veterinary Education Regulations" to cater to the need for a higher professional education and cope with the needs of 21st century. The various committees formulated for the purpose is working on a pragmatic plan to provide `hands on training ' for specialists and scientists of various applied and basic disciplines of Veterinary Sciences.

The Council also propose to take up continuing veterinary education.

SEMINARS/ WORKSHOPS.

To augment education programmes, implement the provisions of the V.C.I.-MINIMUMUM STANDARDS OF VETERINARY EDUCATION-DEGREE COURSE (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) REGULATIONS and to bring in a co-ordinated effort to frame up a pragmatic POST-GRDUATE programme involving greater emphasis on `hands on' training the Council is envisaging a seminar-cum-workshop.

From observations made during the deliberations/ exchanges of information at various levels during the preperations of the V.C.I.-MINIMUMUM STANDARDS OF VETERINARY EDUCATION-DEGREE COURSE (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) REGULATIONS, it is gathered that the organisational set-up, infrastructure, equipments, adequacy of qualification and number of teachers etc. of various institutions varies widely. This it appears, is partly due to variation in the distribution of courses and extend of course coverage. Since it is felt that variations are often due to variation in the concept, it was considered that the implementation of education of some recently introduced subjects need be discussed in a forum of teachers actually involved in the teaching of these subjects. Veterinary Public Health is one such subject and is expected to have an important bearing since dependence on food of animal origin is on the increase.

The Veterinary Council of India held a seminar-cum-work shop on Veterinary Public Health, from the 31st Oct. to 2nd of Nov.,`93 in New Delhi. The objective of the seminar was to workout, a uniform implementation of training in Veterinary Public Health as well as to probe the prospects of Post-Graduate Programmes. Prof(Dr.) Grossklaus an eminent veterinarian and President, the Federal Health Office, Germany , who has recently been honoured by W.H.O. " in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the cause of international health, and in particular to advancement of food safety throughout the world" addressed the scientists /personnel of Veterinary Public Health.

The outcome of the seminar was quite encouraging. Wherever need be, the Council proposes to hold such seminars/ work-shops wherein professionals involved in education, service and research can apprise themselves and exchange views on the specific needs of the nation by the turn of the century.

VISITS

In spite of finacial constraints in pre-plan period and meagre staff strength the President, Vice-President, the Secretary and Asistant Secretary had made it a point to use of every occasion of their visits (including personal and social visits) to persuade the State and had convinced the professionals to work towards extension of the provision of I.V.C.Act, 1984. This has largely elicited positive results.

ZONAL MEETINGS

Now that some important regulations have been prepared and approved the Council is moving its efforts to States where these are to be implemented. The State Veterinary Councils (SVCs) need be appraised of their role and activated to implement these regulation.

Through zonal meetings, the Council envisages to strengthen its efforts towards enforcement of provisions of Indian Veterinary Council Act,1984 throughout the country by State Govts/ Semi-Govt. Agencies, Banks, Universities and other Autonomous/ Statutory bodies, Non-Govt. Organisations, Employment Agencies such as U.P.S.C. and State Public Service Commissions etc.

Since the Council is preparing the supplement to Indian Veterinary Practitioners Register, the Council anticipates the States to complete the job of preperation of State Veterinary Register. It has also requested the Department of Animal husbandry & dairying Govt. Of India who provides 50% Grant in aid to help persuing the matter further with the state goverments. Supplementary Register of each year contains all additions and deletions of the previous year ending 31st day of March of that year.

BUILDING FOR THE VETERINARY COUNCIL OF INDIA.

The office of the Veterinary Council of India is located in a hired premises at 16/15, W.E.A., Karol Bagh, Arya Samaj Road, New Delhi-110005.

Being a statutory body constituted under an Act of Parliament and permanent instrument of the Govt.of India, the Council propose to have its own permanent office building with provision for a guest house and residential accommodation. The Govt. of India has already made a provision of Rs.63 lakhs under the head `Capital'in Eighth Five Year Plan under the scheme `Professional Efficiency Development'under the Indian Veterinary Council.

The Cabinet Committee on accomodation Govt. of India has approved the establishment of the office of Veterinary Council of India in Delhi/ New Delhi.

Efforts are now on to procure a land/ building through Government allotment and/ or purchase from other agencies.

LIBRARY.

In order to enhance the implementation of the provisions of the Act and improving the Professional Effficiency Development Programme, the Council propose to organise a small library in its premises with Acts of other professional Councils, Educational programmes of various developing and developed countries, books relating to education philosophy, education technology and books on current innovations in the fields of Livestock Production, Animal Health, Technology etc. This will be a unique facility providing a fillip to an area of vital importance.

NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS/ SYMPOSIA.

The Council propose to hold National/International Seminars. Symposia, workshops etc. in connection with the manpower requirement for emerging education, training and service needs as well as the contigent plannings required in the field of animal husbandry, animal health and technology.

The Council is also probing the possibility to arrange Continuing Veterinary Education Programmes through short courses, technical lectures/ guest lectures, specified technical trainings, technology import etc. on the lines of `Continueing Education Programme' being organised by Medical Council of India in collaboration with N.R.I. professionals and as approved by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.

LIASONS AND CO-ORDINATION

In order to fulfill its efforts towards professional efficiency development the Council is envisaging liasons and collaborations with the relevant national and international agencies. These include,-

I. Liasion with National Academy of Veterinary Sciences/ Foreign Academies and sister Organisations.

II. Interaction and collaboration with other sister Councils, other statutory organisations (India and Abroad),scientific societies, academies etc.