Foreign medical graduates stuck in registration limbo in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Over 2,000 candidates in the state are awaiting clear directives from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) for permanent registration after the National Medical Commission (NMC) clarified guidelines allowing foreign medical graduates (FMGs) who attended online classes during Covid to register in India. The FMGs studied in Georgia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, China and the Philippines, among others.

MMC has stated that each case is different and not all graduates have completed the compensatory internship as prescribed by NMC, which is why NMC guidelines need to be implemented with care.

Some of the graduates who completed their compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) are trying to repeat their internship in India, waiting to hear from MMC. "We cleared the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE). We have completed our mandatory one-year internship in our country of degree completion. We... ensured that all our online classes were supported by offline classes and practical hours. Still we are not getting registration to practice here," said Rachita Kurmi, who completed her MBBS in China.

Candidates alleged that while states such as Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have been reluctant to grant permanent registration, others like UP had been allowing FMGs to practice, and J&K issued a directive following the NMC guidelines.

Another candidate, said, "Countries like the UK and the USA also faced the pandemic, India wasn't the only one. However, those countries granted registration to students who had studied abroad after they cleared the screening exam. We are concerned that the MMC may require us to undergo an additional one or two years of internship here as well."

The candidates have approached RTI activist Faisal Shaikh, who has approached MMC and the medical education minister seeking relief for the affected ones. "Given that these doctors have already lost significant time, we demand a fast-track redressal mechanism," he said.

MMC administrator Vinki Rughwani said there are over 2,000 FMGs from the state who have been seeking permanent registration in the last year. "We will have to deal with this on a case-by-case basis. We will have to implement the NMC guidelines with care, to ensure there is no deviation from their policy," he said. "The state council will take a student-friendly decision."