Foreign medical graduates allowed to complete internships in India

The National Medical Commission (NMC) issued a circular Friday allowing foreign medical graduates with incomplete internships due to situations beyond their control like coronavirus disease (Covid-19) or war in Ukraine to finish the same in India. The regulatory body, which oversees medical education and medical professionals in India, said that the application for completing the internship may be processed by the state medical councils if the candidates have cleared the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

“There are also some foreign medical graduates with incomplete internships due to such compelling situations which are beyond their control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and war etc. Considering the agony and stress faced by these foreign medical graduates, their application to complete the remaining part of internship in India is considered eligible,” the NMC said.

The permission to complete the internships can help the Indian students in various medical colleges in Ukraine who had to abandon their courses due to the Russian aggression. Thousands of Indian students flew back to their country on planes sent by the central government after they escaped Ukraine amid continued attacks from Russian troops.

“The state medical councils should ensure the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE) should be cleared by the candidates seeking registration in India. If the candidate is found fulfilling criteria, provisional registration may be granted by the state medical councils for a 12 months’ internship or balance period, as the case may be,” the circular said.

The NMC also asked the state medical councils to obtain an undertaking from the medical colleges ensuring no fee is charged from the foreign medical graduates (FMGs) for allowing them to finish their internship.

“The stipend and other facilities to FMGs should be extended equivalent to Indian medical graduates being trained at the government medical colleges as fixed by the appropriate authority,” it added.