173 JnK FMGs without internship accuse medical council of provisional registration delays
Srinagar: Around 173 foreign medical graduates in Jammu and Kashmir, who pursued medical education abroad and also cleared the FMGE screening test, are still waiting to start the mandatory internship.
The medicos have accused the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council for causing prolonged and avoidable delays in issuing the provisional registration certificates, which are required to start their compulsory rotatory medical internship.
According to the students, the crisis started after JKMC, through a notification dated October 1, 2025, invited online applications for CRMI. Later, the deadline was extended to October 26 for issuing the merit list and college allotment. Consequently, a provisional merit list was published on October 30, followed by a final list, which was published on November 7, with the condition that all seat allocations would require clearance from the Health and Medical Education Department.
While the government has acknowledged that JKMC submitted a request for approval to the department on October 17, allegedly, no follow-up action was taken for several weeks, Kashmir Life has reported. Finally, the approval was granted on November 26, nearly forty days later, after the repeated efforts made by the students themselves.
However, the students said that even after the clearance from the Ministry, no provisional registration has been issued and due to this, they cannot join internships in government medical colleges and associated institutions.
Many of the students reportedly visited the JKMC office also. However, they claimed that they were met with indifference and no resolution was offered for their grievance. According to the candidates, such uncertain delay is mentally exhausting, particularly after years of preparing for and clearing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), the mandatory screening test for the FMGs.
The students also highlighted that States such as Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have already started their internship batches and the students of Jammu and Kashmir are left behind without any fault of their own.
Amid this situation, the FMGs have appealed to the Lieutenant Governor, the Health Minister, and the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene and issue directions to the JK Medical Council to immediately issue provisional registration. They have highlighted how timely action would prevent any academic loss and allow young doctors to contribute to the health system instead of being stalled by administrative delays.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council has said that it will issue provisional registration certificates to foreign medical graduates shortlisted for compulsory rotational medical internship once the Council receives verification of their academic and professional credentials.
According to the Council, the verification process includes confirmation of Class 10 and Class 12 certificates from the Board of School Education; the Eligibility Certificate issued by the National Medical Commission; the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination result from the National Board of Examinations in New Delhi; and the degree certificates and marks cards from the respective foreign universities and colleges, which must be authenticated through their embassies and high commissions in New Delhi.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that opposing the two-year internship rule imposed by J&K Medical Council, recently, the Vice President of Jammu and Kashmir Foreign Medical Students' Wing of the All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA), Dr. Mohammed Momin Khan, submitted a formal representation addressed to the President and the Registrar of J&K Medical Council and urged the Council authorities to withdraw or reconsider the Council's notice dated October 30, 2025, through which the Council released the provisional merit list of FMG candidates.
Dr. Khan had informed that even though students from countries like Bangladesh and Iran pursued their entire course through offline mode, they were also allegedly being asked to undergo an extra year of internship. He argued that the notice was issued based on a misinterpreted clarification issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
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