Uttrakhand: 42 foreign MBBS passouts working at government hospitals without clearing FMGE, reveals RTI

FMGE i.e. Foreign Medical Graduate Examination is a mandatory screening test. Any citizen possessing a primary medical qualification awarded by any medical institution outside the country who wants provisional or permanent registration with Medical Council of India (MCI) {now taken over by the National Medical Commission (NMC)} or any state medical council needs to qualify this screening test conducted by the medical regulator through the National Board of Examinations (NBE). Only upon clearing the FMGE exam are they allowed to take registration and practice in India. This examination is held twice in a year.

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As per the data provided in the RTI reply, a maximum of 8 such doctors are posted in Dehradun and Pauri districts each followed by 5 in Almora district, 3 each in Nainital, Haridwar and Pithoragarh, 2 each in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Champawat, Bageshwar and Udham Singh Nagar while one in Chamoli district of the hill state, reports The New Indian Express.

The reply was given by the state in response to the application filed by one Nadimuddin, an RTI activist based in Kashipur of Udham Singh Nagar district. The activist said that information about posting of one such doctor has not been provided in the reply by the state health department.

On the issue that the 42 doctors are working in various government hospitals and medical facilities who have not passed mandatory, the activist told TNIE, "The situation is serious as the RTI points out. This is a serious violation of the nirman which should be inquired and responsible people be held accountable."

While this is currently a violation of the law, there is a long pending demand to allow these candidates to practice. Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that in the letter to the health minister, the members of parliament emphasized the need to relax government norms to help medical graduates extend their service to the country during the pandemic.