NMC Allows Foreign Medical Graduates to Intern at 679 Non-teaching Hospitals

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a notice allowing foreign medical graduates (FMGs), who have passed their screening test, to complete their internship at non-teaching hospitals. The commission has also relaxed its norms as a one-time measure. The internships at 679 selected hospitals across the country will be allowed till May 2024. The relaxation in norms has been announced keeping in mind the candidates, especially those who completed their training from China and Ukraine last year.

Medical students who need to do their two-year internship are allowed to choose their second year of internship from a different state or college. The National Medical Commission has further clarified that the accomplishment of a stipend will be at the “discretion of the concerned state authorities under which the medical college/ institute is located.”

Also read| ‘Conduct NEET UG 2023 Twice a Year’: AISU Writes to NMC, MoHFW, Education Ministry

Further, State Medical Councils can’t deny allotment of colleges for the internship based on domicile status. An FMG can complete their internship from any of the listed colleges across the country. There are a total of 679 hospitals where these foreign medical graduates will be permitted to complete their internships. The number of hospitals in the states and Union Territories (UTs) approved for the purposes of compulsory rotating internship training has been mentioned below.

Hospitals Offering Internships to FMGs:

Maharashtra: 74

Uttar Pradesh: 72

Karnataka: 62

Rajasthan: 62

Gujarat: 49

Madhya Pradesh: 45

Punjab and Haryana: 42

Tamil Nadu: 40

West Bengal: 33

Andhra Pradesh: 30

Bihar: 29

Railway Hospital In India: 27

Assam: 21

Delhi: 21

Kerala: 20

Odisha: 17

Military Hospitals Across the Country: 15

Himachal Pradesh: 6

Jammu and Kashmir: 2

Nagaland: 1

Tripura: 1

Daman and Diu: 1

Andaman and Nicobar Island: 1

Dadra and Nagar Haveli: 1

Manipur: 1

“This relaxation is granted only as a one-time measure. The allotment of FMGs in these non-teaching hospitals shall also be done through concerned state medical councils,” reads an official statement. Additionally, the two-year internship programme has also been announced for candidates who have returned to India during their final year and completed their education online due to the Russia-Ukraine war or the COVID-19 pandemic. The NMC has asked the selected hospitals to make sure that at least 7.5 per cent of their internship seats are given to foreign medical graduates.