New Delhi: Soon a law degree might not suffice for the aspiring lawyers to get a license to practice as the government is in the process of making it compulsory by introducing a hurdle of an entry-level test in between.

Following the Union Cabinet's in-principle approval of its proposal earlier this month, the Law Ministry has started talks with the Bar Council of India (BCI), the regulator for legal professionals in the country.

The proposal approved by the Cabinet claims that the Advocates Act, 1961, "May needs amendment with consultation to the senior members of the council in order to consider reintroduction of mandatory apprenticeship and introduction of a qualifying exam for advocates before admission to the bar."

The move comes after repeated suggestions from the Supreme Court to the Centre to raise the standard of legal education and the profession in India.

The government and judges of the Supreme and High Courts discussed this issue on October 24 and 25 followed by a more detailed interaction with the jurists on December 5 and 6 during a roundtable consultation to improve the legal education of the country.

At present, a student has to follow the conventional path of acquiring a law degree from a recognized university or a law institute in order to be registered as a lawyer. The respective state bar councils affiliated to the BCI then grant the license to practice the profession.

Latest figures show there are more than 1 million (10 lakh) lawyers in the country, registered with the BCI.

"The sole effort is to raise the bar of the legal profession in India in order to compete with the international standards and slow down the number of lawyers being added to the profession consistently," a senior ministry official said.

According to the US norms, the aspiring lawyers in the country have to undergo a mandatory exam before they start with its practical application.

In other countries such as the UK and Canada, law graduates have to undergo apprenticeship to be eligible to become a lawyer, the official said.

Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said he wanted "holistic legal reforms", but was unwilling to put forth any specific proposal.

The BCI is yet to take a final stand upon the proposal as its chairman, S.N.P. Sinha said that, "We welcome all suggestions or comments to improve the present lot of the legal profession in India. We have not yet reached at the final stage of implementation."

This is the second attempt to regulate the entry of lawyers into the profession. In 1996, the BCI had introduced a mandatory one-year apprenticeship for law graduates before granting them the license to practice.

It was, however, struck down by the Supreme Court a year later.