On February 20, 2023, the lieutenant governor approved the creation of medical boards under the Surrogacy Regulation Act in each of the Capital’s 11 districts. The decision will enable surrogacy treatments to be carried out in the Capital without the intended parents needing to seek a judge’s approval.

Officials from the lieutenant governor’s office said the medical board in each district will be a three-member body, comprising a chairperson, who will be a chief medical officer, a chief civil surgeon or joint director of health services of the district, and two members the chief gynaecologist and chief paediatrician of the district.

A district medical board must be established in order to issue a “certificate of medical indication in favour of either or both members of the intending couple or intending woman necessitating gestational surrogacy from a DMB,” as per the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, which was notified by the union health ministry in December 2021.

According to the Act, no surrogacy or surrogacy operation may be carried out, undertaken, executed, or started unless the intended parents have a certificate from the relevant authorities (in this case, the District Medical Board) stating that a gestational surrogacy is necessary.