Delay in Permanent Registrations- Andhra FMGs opt for Neighbouring States to Undergo Internships

Vijayawada: Amid the ongoing protests by the Foreign Medical Graduates in Andhra Pradesh against the Medical Council's delay in issuing permanent registrations to them, more than 250 graduates of Andhra Pradesh have reportedly opted for neighbouring States to do the compulsory internship.

While data for an exact number is not available, many graduates believe that the number of those who left for other States, from the two batches of January and June 2025, could be easily more than 250.

Many of these FMGs have opted to undergo internships in Telangana and Karnataka, while a few have reportedly gone to Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, The Hindu has reported.

As per the existing rules, the medical graduates from abroad must undergo a compulsory internship in India after clearing the screening test i.e. Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE). These criteria are required for the FMGs to get registered in the country and practice medicine. Only after completing the internship, the FMGs get a Permanent Registration (PR), which is required for the FMGs to study further or practice in India.

While the duration of the internship is generally one year, it was increased by the National Medical Commission (NMC) when several medical graduates had to study online during the pandemic. The Foreign Universities had given a compensation certificate to those who returned to the campus and completed training and wrote the final examinations via offline medium.

Addressing this issue, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued multiple guidelines. On June 7, 2024, NMC said that every FMG who studied online during the pandemic was required to undergo a two-year internship. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that on June 19, 2024, NMC issued another notice and mentioned that all the medical graduates from abroad who have sufficiently compensated classes in physical onsite for the online classes and who have cleared the equivalent exam to MBBS in India, would be eligible for a one-year mandatory internship.

Also Read: NMC Relief: FMGs who have sufficiently compensated classes in physical onsite in lieu of online classes eligible for one year mandatory internship

An RTI application was filed in this regard by the FMGs and it came to light that States of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat were allotting a one-year internship to those with compensation certificates.

However, in Andhra Pradesh, the State Medical Council is reportedly insisting on a two-year internship for the FMGs for various reasons, including the lack of full details in the compensation letters. Last year, APMC had blamed the lack of a council body for the refusal to issue the permanent registration. Even though the council body has formed now, the delay in issuing permanent registration continues.

Meanwhile, there is also confusion regarding the allotment of internships for the batch of students who cleared the FMGE screening test in January 2025. Even though counselling has began, verification of certificates is going on. According to the FMGs, usually, the certificates are verified and internship allotment happens the same day.

Amid this situation, many FMGs from Andhra Pradesh are opting other States to undergo their internship. The Hindu has reported that according to the information from the Telangana Medical Council, out of 143 FMGs who came from other States for the counselling, most of them were from Andhra Pradesh. Commenting on this, a TG Medical Council member told The Hindu, "But since there were no vacancies, we could not accommodate all of them in medical colleges here."

This development has also been confirmed by APMC Chairman D. Sreehari Rao who said that a few students have left for other States, but there was no clarity on the number. When asked about the reason for the delay in conducting the counselling, the Chairman of APMC said that the verification process was taking long.

"Students have not mentioned clearly the duration of the online studies when they returned to India. They all may be genuine cases, but many must not have known about the importance of mentioning these details. In some other cases, the return dates are not matching with their travel details. A few students, I have been told, have mentioned the dates incorrectly because of which we are vetting everyone’s certificate carefully," he said.

On the other hand, the FMGs are wondering why there should be a problem in Andhra Pradesh when the compensatory certificates are being accepted in Telangana and other States.

Meanwhile, taking note of their issues, AP Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav has asked the APMC members to visit New Delhi and get clarity from the NMC on this issue. 

Also Read: FMG Protest Intensifies, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council Stands Firm on NMC-Mandated Internship Norms