(1) Every nursing and midwifery qualification granted by any University or nursing and midwifery institution in India shall be listed and maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board in such manner as may be specified by regulations, and such nursing and midwifery qualification shall be a recognised nursing and midwifery qualification for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every University or nursing and midwifery institution in India which conducts any course for nursing or midwifery qualification, not included in the list maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board may apply to that Board for granting recognition to such qualification.
(3) The Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board shall examine the application for grant of recognition to an undergraduate or postgraduate or speciality or clinical nurse speciality or nurse practitioner course in all specialities of nursing and midwifery qualification within a period of six months, in such manner as may be specified by regulations.
(4) Where the Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board decides to grant recognition to a nursing and midwifery qualification, it shall include such qualification in the list maintained by it and also specify the date of effect of such recognition.
(5) An institution or University aggrieved by the decision under sub-section (3) may, within sixty days from the communication of such decision, prefer an appeal to the National Commission and the National Commission shall, within a period of sixty days from the date of filing of such appeal, pass such orders as it thinks fit, after giving an opportunity of being heard.
(6) Where the National Commission decides not to grant recognition to the nursing and midwifery qualification or fails to take a decision within the specified period, the University or nursing and midwifery institution concerned may prefer a second appeal to the Central Government within a period of thirty days of the communication of such decision or after the lapse of specified period, as the case may be.
(7) All nursing and midwifery qualifications which have been recognised before the date of commencement of this Act and are included in the Part I and Part II of the Schedule to the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 (48 of 1947), shall also be recognised nursing and midwifery qualifications for the purposes of this Act, and shall be listed and maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education Board in such manner as may be specified by regulations.
(8) If any authority within a State, being recognised by the State Government in consultation with the State Commission or any autonomous body, if any, for the purpose of granting any qualification, grants a qualification which is not recognised by the National Commission, then, such authority may apply to the National Commission to have such qualification recognised, and the National Commission may declare that such qualification, or such qualification only when granted after a specified date, shall be a recognised qualification for the purposes of this Act.
(9) Every State Government may, for the purposes of addressing or promoting public health nursing and midwifery practice in rural areas, take necessary measures to enhance the capacity of the nursing and midwifery professionals.