Will Maharashtra scrap Mandatory bond service for MBBS graduates?
Government Bond Service
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government is reportedly considering scrapping the mandatory bond service for students completing their MBBS course.
The decision to do away with this decades-long bond service policy was taken in a meeting led by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis around two months ago. During the meeting, the ministers and officials from the state medical education and public health departments discussed ending the one-year rural stint for the undergraduate (UG) programmes. However, the Government decided to keep the bond policy intact for the post-graduate (PG) and super-speciality courses.
Reportedly, in the CM-led meeting dated July 9, which was held to review the public health department's activities, it was concluded that the policy was no longer needed due to availability of ample doctors in rural centres and because of the increase in the MBBS seats in recent years.
Commenting on this, an official told Careers 360 that the public health department was directed to act in the light of this discussion, although no decision has been reached yet.
The bond service policy was first introduced in Maharashtra in 1960s to deal with the shortage of doctors in rural areas. The bond is applicable to Government Medical College students who received subsidised education and also the students who benefitted from various scholarships and fee concessions at private medical colleges. Previously, the graduates could skip the mandatory one-year bond service by paying Rs 10 lakh as penalty. However, this provision was withdrawn in 2022.
Commenting on the issue of bond service policy, the former director of medical education, Pravin Shingare said that the bond service was first implemented at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune to draft medical graduates from the institute for the Sino-Indian war in 1962. During the 1971 war with Pakistan, the policy was expanded to all government medical colleges in Maharashtra.
"After the war got over, the state government, around 1975, added rural service to the bond field work to mitigate the shortage of medical professionals in rural healthcare facilities. Around the turn of the millennium, when the rural healthcare facilities were upgraded, there arose a need for PG doctors. Hence the bond was introduced for them too. A couple of years later, it was further extended to super speciality graduates," Shingare said.
Majority of the doctors opted out of the bond service by paying the penalty. Therefore, the bond amount was increased to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2 crore for UG, PG and super-speciality courses, respectively. In 2022, the choice to opt out was withdrawn for the MBBS graduates.
However, in the CM-led meeting, the bond for MBBS graduates was considered to be not required considering the availability of ample doctors in rural areas. Further, it was highlighted that the bond policy did not succeed, as the bonded doctors often remained absent from work.
Addressing this, the minutes of the meeting stated, "The objective of the 2006 bond policy for the graduates from Maharashtra's government colleges was to make doctors available in the rural areas. However, the number of MBBS seats [has] tripled (4,555 in 2006 to 11,795 in 2025) in the interim period. Besides, the government's policy to have one medical college in each district has resulted in sufficient doctors. Hence, the vacancies for medical officers [have] reduced."
"Considering the rising number of doctors and the graduates' inclination towards public service, the post-MBBS bond policy should be scrapped and the interested doctors should be directly recruited. However, the mandatory service after PG and super-speciality should be continued," showed the meeting records.
Careers 360 has reported that the deliberations over the utility of bond service came around a month after the State put a hold on a 2017 rule requring MD/MS candidates first to complete their post-MBBS bond to become eligible for PG admission. This had put the recently-graduated MBBS batch in jeopardy as the students were struggling to be placed at the limited number of positions available for them in rural service.
Now, the students have welcomed the State's move to do away with the bond requirement, and they are hoping for an official decision. Commenting on this, Bhagyesh Murumkar, an MBBS graduate awaiting a posting, told the Daily, "The rural centres lack basic facilities, making it tough to serve patients effectively. This change will allow genuinely interested doctors to join government service rather than being forced into it. I strongly urge that these minutes be converted into an official Government Resolution (GR) at the earliest, to give a much-needed relief to all bonded doctors."
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that earlier this year, bringing relief to MBBS graduates, the Maharashtra Government put the one-year government bond service requirement for postgraduate medical admissions on hold.
As per the previous Government Order dating back to 2017, MBBS graduates are required to complete their bond service before joining postgraduate medical courses. However, issuing an order recently, the State Medical Education Department stayed the requirement. The order stated, "The 2017 state government resolution requiring MBBS graduates to complete their bond service before joining PG courses had been put on hold till further orders."
In the Government Resolutions (GR) issued in October 2017, the State mentioned that the medical graduates from the GMCs would not be considered eligible for MD/MS and PG Diploma courses before completing their bond-service requirement at the remote healthcare facilities and other establishments.
Also Read: Relief to MBBS Graduates: Maha Stays Bond Service Requirement for PG Aspirants
