FMG Internship row: Medical Council seeks documents to review cases, move draws flak
Srinagar: Amid the recent objections from students over the directive concerning two years of Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council has asked the medical graduates from abroad to submit the required documents to review their specific cases.
Students have been asked to submit an official certificate from the Parent University, a detailed logbook/records, proof of attendance, and a passport with visa stamps of an extended period of offline compensation.
For this, the council has relied on the NMC Public Notice dated December 7, 2023, and subsequent clarification dated June 19, 2024 and the clarification dated 07.08.2025, which were issued to check the misuse of compensation provisions.
"Given that online learning lacks the crucial component of in-person clinical training, which is an essential part of medical competency, the NMC has mandated these measures compensate for the equal duration of the course studied via online mode. The goal is not punitive but corrective to ensure that all FMGs attain a level of practical and clinical knowledge at par with the standards expected in India," the Council mentioned on 04.11.2025.
The Council has mentioned that after submission and successful verification of these documents by the competent authorities (including potential validation from the NMC), it will process the applications in line with prevailing regulations and judicial precedents.
"The J&K Medical Council is committed to applying the rules consistently and upholding fairness as per the prevailing NMC guidelines. We will review your documentation and the specific details of your training to ensure that the correct, uniform policy is applied to all eligible candidates," the Council added.
However, reacting to the directive issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council, the All FMGs Association (AFA) has claimed that NMC has not issued any guidelines specifying the process of compensation.
"Dear J&K Medical Council, Please show us a single guideline issued by the NMC that supports your claims or outlines any specific compensation ways. For the past 2–3 years, the NMC has consistently clarified through multiple notices that online classes must be compensated. Accordingly, medical colleges have been conducting extra classes and extending hours to make up for missed practicals. Even the Hon’ble Supreme Court and various High Courts have upheld this interpretation. Yet, you continue to issue misleading notices that have no basis in any official directive. I respectfully urge @OmarAbdullah sir and @sakinaitoo to take immediate action against the J&K Medical Council for its ongoing harassment of Foreign Medical Graduates and blatant disregard for judicial orders," AFA mentioned in an X post.
Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr. Kaushal from AFA said, "There is no such guidelines where NMC has said how the compensation mechanism works and this was confirmed before the Court by the NMC lawyer as well."
Referring to the fact that NMC has already clarified on this issue in 2023 and 2024, Dr. Kaushal asked, "Why are they imposing their own rules?"
Further, he referred to the fact that only a small number of seats are available with the Council for FMG internship, whereas 500 students are waiting. "If you do not have adequate seats, how can you ask the students to undergo internship for 2 years?" he asked, further opining, "They want free labour and they do not want to pay stipend."
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).
Referring to the Council's notice, AFA had mentioned, "Some State Medical Councils seem intent on making FMGs suffer by manipulating NMC guidelines. Just a day ago, the J&K Medical Council posted a clarification letter from the NMC, citing an Andhra Pradesh High Court case involving an FMG. However, the Council deliberately omitted some portions of the original clarification issued by both the Court & NMC, and presented only the parts that justify imposing 2–3 years of internship on FMGs. This is a gross misrepresentation. In reality, the Hon’ble High Court has clearly instructed that all FMGs who possess a compensation letter and have completed one year of internship in India must be granted permanent registration and ordered APMC to do it within 1 month. We demand the immediate withdrawal of this misleading notice and urge the Hon’ble Chief Minister of J&K, @OmarAbdullah, to intervene and uphold justice for FMGs."
Recent Directive by Jammu & Kashmir Medical Council:
The Council, in its recent directive dated 04.11.2025, asked the students to submit the following documentation:
1. Official Certificate from the Parent University: This document must explicitly confirm that the entire curriculum of your medical qualification has been completed in offline mode and also the period of your online study has been completed through physical, onsite training and clinical rotation.
2. Detailed Logbook/Records: Comprehensive clinical training logbooks, countersigned by the relevant administrative authorities and mentors at the Parent University, detailing the specific departments, procedures observed/performed, and duration, as evidence of adequate clinical exposure.
3. Proof of Attendance: Records substantiating physical attendance during the claimed period/extended period of study and internship in China.
4. Passport with Visa stamps of extended period of offline compensation.
