Health Ministry releases revised guidelines for issuance of NORI, Statement Of Need, Exceptional Need Certificates

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (MoHFW) has released the revised guidelines for issuance of the Statement of Need (SON) Certificate,  Exceptional Need Certificate (ENC) and No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) Certificate.

Earlier, Medical Dialogues had reported that the health ministry had extended the last date for submission of documents for applications submitted online for the Statement of Need (SoN) certificate for joining training programme/course in medical specialities in medical institutions in the USA. Moreover, it had also allowed one time relaxation on the exiting instructions.

According to the Health Ministry, the authorities noted that a large number of candidates are facing difficulties in India and abroad in completing the required documentation while applying for a Statement of Need (SoN) certificate for joining training programme/ course in medical specialities in medical institutions in the USA due to measures taken by Governments for containment of COVID-19.

Now, the ministry has released revised guidelines. All the concerned candidates are hereby requested to take note of the following guidelines as published on the official website of the health ministry:

Guidelines for issuance of Statement of Need Certificate/ Exceptional Need Certificate/ No obligation to return to lndia Certificate

A. Statement of Need (SON)

i) For issuance of SON certificate, applicants shall be required to execute a Surety bond of Rs. 10 Lakhs (Rupees Ten Lakh only) on a Non-judicial stamp paper of Rs.100/- (Rupees One Hundred only). 

ii) There will be two sureties, out of which one will be a close relative (who is a citizen of lndia and based in lndia) and other one is not related to the applicant, both with sufficient financial standing (').

iii) The first surety will be responsible for payment of the bond amount including interest, if any, in case the candidate defaults on any of the conditions mentioned in the bond. ln case the first surety also fails to make payment, the second surety will be liable to make payment.

iv) Separate surety bond shall have to be executed for each SON Certificate issued.

v) SON shall be issued in all cases on first occasion or for extension thereof or subsequent occasions, subject to combined period of maximum 7 years on J-1 visa in the USA or a maximum of 7 years as per any other country laws.

vi) SON will be issued to Foreign Medical Graduates (who do not have MCI Registration) by taking an affidavit from applicants that within 2 years of the completion of the course/ training, foreign medical graduates will acquire MCI registration (after successfully qualifying FMGE conducted by NBE). 

B. Exceptional Need Certificate(ENC)

(i) Exceptional Need Certificate (ENC) will be issued to applicants for all specialty and super specialty where combined duration of fellowship program exceeds 7 years or where the ensuing fellowship program is an extension of earlier program that exceeds 7 years considering all previous training programs clubbing together. 

(ii) For issuance of ENC, applicants shall be required to execute a Surety bond of Rs. 10 Lakhs (Rupees Ten Lakh only) on a Non-judicial stamp paper of Rs.100/- (Rupees One Hundred only). 

(iii) There will be two sureties, out of which one will be a close relative (who is a citizen of lndia and based in lndia) and other one is not related to the applicant, both with sufficient financial standing (*).

(iv) The first surety will be responsible for payment of the bond amount including interest, if any, in case the candidate defaults on any of the conditions mentioned in the bond. ln case the first surety also fails to make payment, the second surety will be liable to make payment.

C. No Obligation to Return to lndia (NORl)

(i) NORI (No Obligation to Return to India) Certificate shall not be issued in general.

(ii) NORI may be issued to a person attaining 65 years of age.

(iii) NORI may be issued to the person satisfying the following three (3) conditions:

(a) If SON has not been issued previously:

(b) If the applicant is a Foreign Medical Graduate and has not qualified eligibility test as per IMC/NMC Act.

(c) If the applicant does not have MCI/NMC/ State Medical Council registration.

D. General Conditions:

(i) The Candidate will inform the SON Certificate/ENC issuing authority of his arrival in India within a period of three months from the date of completion of the course mentioned in the SON Certificate/ENC. In case the candidate fails to report within the stipulated time period or takes longer to report because of some unforeseen situation leading to non-compliance of the bond conditions to the SON Certificate/ENC issuing authority and the authority shall have the option to further extend the reporting period for a maximum of 3 months beyond, after considering the explanation offered and taking into account the evidences adduced.

(ii) If the candidate fails to return or fails to inform the authorities beyond the extended period, he/she shall be liable for enforcement of penal actions, including payment to the Government or as may be directed by the Government, on demand the said sum of Rs. 10 Lakhs (Rupees Ten Lakhs) together with interest thereon @ 12% per annum from the date of demand.

(*) A person filing ITR for three consecutive years on previous occasion including the current Accounting year.

To view the official notice, click on the following link: 

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/revisiedguidelines1-1-158590.pdf