Upper Age Limit to Appoint Senior Resident in PGI Chandigarh Increased from 40 to 45 Years

Chandigarh: Introducing a major change, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has given its permission to modify the upper age limit to appoint senior residents.

The institute has now increased the upper age limit from 40 to 45 years. This comes as a result of a series of orders and directives issued by the Central Government.

Senior Resident-ship (SRship) is a necessary entry point to medical academics in India. Back in the year 2019, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare extended the age limit to appoint senior residents from 37 years to 40 years.

After this, the erstwhile Medical Council of India also modified the qualification for teachers in medical institutions and defined a senior resident (broad specialities) as someone under 45 years of age.

Later, the Directorate General of Health Services later received requests to further raise the upper age limit. After examining the matter, the authorities decided that the upper age limit for these appointments would be 45 years, with a relaxation for reserved categories as per the guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

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Releasing the draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations 2021 (TEQ), the National Medical Commission (NMC) announced relief on the on the upper age limit of the senior residentship increasing the same from a maximum of 40 years to now "below 45 years of age at the time of initial appointment".

As per the latest media report by The Tribune India, this decision was brought before the PGIMER governing body in June 2021. Ultimately, the governing body approved the proposal for raising the age limit to 45 years for direct recruitment of senior residents, with appropriate relaxations for reserved categories. This alteration was made in accordance with the Central Government;s efforts for accommodating a broader range of qualified medical professionals.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the National Medical Commission (NMC) earlier hinted at the possibility of doing away with the age limit of 45 years prescribed for the initial appointment of Senior Residents.

Confirmation of this came from the minutes of the meeting held by the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC earlier this year. 

During its meeting dated February 07, 2023, the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC examined the cases of non-medical postgraduate students with MSC (Medical) degree and decided to recommend to NMC for abolishing the age limit of 45 years prescribed for the Senior Residents in the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022.

The matter came to be discussed before the PG Board of the Apex Medical Commission after the NMC received an application from a doctor on January 02, 2023, for the post of Senior Resident in the Department of Pharmacology in a medical college in India.

Also Read: NMC to abolish Age limit of 45 years prescribed for Senior Residents