NMC says Granting FMG registration as per HC order 'Arbitrary Relaxation'- Andhra medical council files review plea
Andhra Pradesh High Court
Vijayawada: Filing a review petition before the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the State Medical Council has sought more time and clarification regarding the two verdicts delivered by the High Court, granting permanent registration to foreign medical graduates.
This comes after issuing a seven-page clarification to Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC), the National Medical Commission (NMC) highlighted the importance of physical study of clinical courses by the FMGs in their respective foreign medical institutes and mentioned that it cannot be substituted by online study.
In its clarification dated August 7, 2025, the Apex Medical Commission suggested that APMC file a review petition in the High Court and seek clarity regarding the two recent verdicts concerning the issue of FMG internship tenure. On the same day, council filed a review petition.
Also Read: HC relief to FMG, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council ordered to issue permanent registration
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, NMC observed, "Complying with AP high court's order in granting permission for permanent registration to foreign medical graduates leads to arbitrary relaxation of the regulation norms prescribed for ensuring uniform standards of study by FMGs across the country, which defeats the objective of such regulation."
Following the disruption of Covid-19 outbreak and Russia-Ukraine war, the NMC issued two public notices on December 7, 2023 and June 16, 2024, saying in addition to one year of compulsory internship, FMGs are required to undergo one or two years of clerkship in India to compensate for the period of stay in India as applicable based on their passport entries.
NMC also clarified that compensation certificates issued by respective foreign medical institutions shall contain all the details of academic and clinical courses studied by FMGs during the extended period of study in their respective countries along with duration. In addition, such certificates need to be authenticated by Indian embassies in those respective countries, it said.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that back on July 9, the HC bench had directed the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council to immediately grant permanent registration to a Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG), K Vamsi in a month to practice medicine in the country.
According to the NMC guidelines issued last year on 19th June, FMGs would be eligible for one year internship if the students duly compensated for their online studies. While APMC argued that it could not ascertain the genuineness of the compensatory certificates submitted by him, a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati observed that the burden was on APMC to disprove the veracity of the document.
In another verdict delivered on August 4, the HC bench, while considering the plea by four FMGs seeking permanent registration, directed APMC to issue speaking orders in respect of these medical graduates from abroad in compliance with NMC norms.
The New Indian Express has reported that, following these rulings, Special Chief Secretary (Health) M.T. Krishna Babu, after consultations with Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav, sought clarifications from the NMC on key issues, including the required duration of physical, on-site study to compensate for time lost to online classes during the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Further, clarification was sought regarding the details to be included in the compensation study certificate issued by foreign institutions. The state government also asked whether the standard course duration must be extended to make up for online study.
TNIE has reported that in order to resolve the issue, the State government had previously sent the APMC Chairman and Registrar to New Delhi for discussions with the NMC on July 7 and 8. After multiple rounds of consultations, NMC issued the formal clarification.
Consequently, addressing the issue, NMC in its clarification said, "Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations and Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Regulations, 2021, require one year of compulsory internship by FMGs in India after completion of medical graduation in respective foreign medical institutions through offline study in normal situations. Further, in view of the outbreak of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, NMC issued two public notices on Dec 7, 2023, and Jun 19, 2024, asserting that in addition to one year of compulsory internship, FMGs are required to complete one or two more years of clerkship in India to compensate for the period of stay in India as applicable based on passport entries of FMGs."
"Regulatory guidelines and public notices issued from time to time in the matter of permanent registration for FMGs were aimed at ensuring that FMGs are equipped with all the skills for practising medicine in India, and they need to be strictly complied with. The compensation certificates issued by the respective foreign medical institutions should contain all details of academic and clinical courses studied by FMGs during the extended period of study in the respective countries, along with the duration. In addition, the compensation certificates need to be authenticated by Indian embassies in respective countries," clarified the Apex Medical Commission.
Since the deadline for the order dated July 9 was to expire on August 8, APMC filed a review petition on August 7 seeking both an extension and clarity regarding the second high court verdict.
This was confirmed in a release from the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department which stated, "APMC filed a review petition in the High Court on Thursday (August 7) seeking clarity in respect of two verdicts delivered by it in the matter of period of internship required for FMGs."
