208 Karnataka MBBS graduates face Rs 15 lakh penalty each for bond service failure

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Health Department has issued notices to 208 MBBS graduates for not signing up for the compulsory rural service in Karnataka. Each of them now faces a penalty of Rs 15 lakh if they fail to comply.

In a notice issued by the health and family welfare department on January 30, the candidates have been given 30 days to pay the penalty amount. If they fail to do so, legal action will follow.

Under Karnataka’s compulsory rural service rules, MBBS graduates from government quota seats are required to serve in rural areas for one year after completing their course. This year, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) submitted a merit list of 8,171 students graduating in 2025 for 1,772 rural service vacancies.

Also read- Exemption on merit, Penalty of Rs 15 lakh for MBBS graduates, Rs 25 lakh for MD-MS, Rs 30 lakh for SS: Karnataka updates Compulsory Service Rules, details

The health department notified the vacancies and invited applications. All the 1,772 vacant posts were filled through online counselling. As many as 6,119 candidates were exempted from rural service based on their choice, since the number of graduates was far higher than the available posts.

However, 208 candidates neither logged in nor selected a posting location during counselling. As per the rules, those who fail to take up the rural posting must pay a penalty of Rs 15 lakh to the government.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that under the new Karnataka Compulsory Service by Candidates Completed Medical Courses (Counselling, Allotment and Certification) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, the state has decided that candidates failing to comply with the compulsory service conditions will have to pay penalties of Rs 15 lakh (if they are MBBS graduates), Rs 20 lakh (for Diploma students), Rs 25 lakh (if they are MD/MS graduates) and Rs 30 lakh (if they are super specialists).

Since the 208 MBBS graduates failed to register themselves for the rural service, the government issued them notices for "failure to fulfil the obligation of serving the one-year compulsory service under the govt."

Speaking to TOI, stakeholders said that "If some students weren’t willingly signing up for rural posting and sitting out, it’s mainly because they prefer to spend the year preparing for NEET-PG for specialisation and gaining additional skills. An MBBS degree, without PG speciality, might be less lucrative."

A senior resident doctor said, "Those who have enough money will pay the fine and focus on NEET PG. Students’ monthly pay for rural stints has been downscaled from Rs 75,000 to Rs 60,000 now."

A founder of an academy said, "Students might feel that it is better to join PG as soon as possible rather than spend a year on rural posting, as the cost of education keeps going up. Many can afford Rs 15 lakh. Students want to spend time preparing for the next entrance as no one wants to stop at basic MBBS. Many do not even attend to patients as they want to spend all their energy to crack the next entrance. It is not surprising that some students are willing to pay instead of opting for rural service."

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