Advisory for Indian Students seeking admission in Foreign Universities/Institutions

Indian students pursuing studies abroad may please verify any misleading claim being made by foreign universities/institutions/schools in respect of the courses offered by them and validity/recognition of their degrees by contacting the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), AIU House, 16, Comd. Indrajit Gupta Marg,(Kotla Marg), New Delhi -110002 directly or on phone 00-91-11-23230059; 23232429; 23232305 or by email: studentinfo@aiu.ac.in or visit their website https://www.aiu.ac.in/ for information regarding the accreditation status of foreign universities and the valuation and equivalence of degrees and diplomas awarded by the accredited universities abroad .

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Advisory for Students pursuing Medical Education Overseas

Indian students seeking admission to pursue medicine in Suriname and the Mission’s concurrently accredited countries Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines are hereby advised to visit the official website of the National Medical Commission (NMC) https://nmc.org.in/ especially the links https://www.nmc.org.in/information-desk/for-students-to-study-in-abroad/, https://www.nmc.org.in/wp-content/uploads/Eligibility-Notice/20210319060622.pdf and https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=/Documents/Public/Portal/LatestNews/231275.pdf and such other updates posted on the website of the NMC from time to time. For the sake of clarity, the NMC’s notification dated 18^th November 2021 is given below in its entirety:

https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=/Documents/Public/Portal/LatestNews/231275.pdf

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA: EXTRAORDINARY [PART III—SEC.4]

NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 18th November, 2021

No. UGMEB/NMC/Rules & Regulations/2021/.–––In exercise of the powers conferred by section 57 read with sub-section (4) of section 15 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (30 of 2019), the National Medical Commission hereby makes the following regulations namely:-

1. Short title and commencement.––(1) These Regulations may be called the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette of India.

1. Definitions.–– In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,––

(a) “Act” means the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (30 of 2019);

(b) “Commission” means the National Medical Commission constituted under section 3 of the Act;

(c) “Foreign Medical Graduate” means a person who does not have basic graduation or primary qualification (undergraduate medical degree) from any University or medical college or institution in India, to seek license for medical practice in India;

(d) “Medicine” means modern scientific medicine in all its branches and includes surgery and obstetrics, but does not include veterinary medicine and surgery;

(e) “Permanent Registration” is the registration of eligible persons with a duly recognised primary medical qualification as regulated under the provisions of Chapter VI of the Act, which permits or provides license to an individual to independently practice modern scientific system of medicine or allopathy in India, as regulated under the Permanent Medical Regulations, 2021;

(f) “Schedule” means the Schedule annexed to these regulations;

(g) ”Supervised Internship” means training of an intern by mentors so that he becomes a clinician with reliable competencies in diagnostic and therapeutic skills in different disciplines of medicine, appropriate for a primary care physician, to independently provide safe preventive, promotive, curative, palliative and holistic care with compassion and is confident of handling common acute emergencies.

(2) Words and expressions used in these regulations and not defined herein but defined in the Act, shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Act.

1. Prohibition of foreign medical graduate to practice medicine in India.––No foreign medical graduate shall practice medicine in India, unless he is granted permanent registration in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.
2. Grant of permanent registration to Foreign Medical Graduate.––No foreign medical graduate shall be granted permanent registration, unless he has–

(a) (i) undergone a course leading to foreign medical degree with minimum duration of fifty-four months;

(ii) Undergone an internship for a minimum duration of twelve months in the same foreign medical institution;

(iii) Received a foreign medical degree with medium of instructions in English; and

(iv) studied the mandatory subjects specified in the Schedule-I;

(b) registered with the respective professional regulatory body or otherwise, competent to grant license to practice medicine in their respective jurisdiction of the country in which the medical degree is awarded and at par with the license to practice medicine given to citizen of that country;

(c) undergone supervised internship in India for a minimum term of twelve months, after applying for the same to the Commission; and

(d) has cleared the National Exit Test or such other mandated test or tests conducted by the Commission.

1. Applicability of these regulations. ––(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in regulation 4, these regulations shall not be applicable––

(a) To foreign medical graduates who have acquired a foreign medical degree or primary qualification, as the case may be, prior to the coming into force of these regulations;

(b) to candidates who are pursuing their education in foreign institutions prior to the coming into force of these regulations; and

(c) to such foreign medical graduates who are specifically exempted by the Commission or the Central Government, as the case may be, by notification.

(2) The foreign medical graduates who have acquired a foreign medical degree or primary qualification, as the case may be, and the candidates who are pursuing their education in foreign institutions, prior to the coming into force of these regulations, shall be governed by the erstwhile applicable regulations.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in these regulations, no grant of permanent registration to practice medicine shall be issued if the same infringes upon public policy or national security.

SCHEDULE-I

(See regulation 4)

CRITERIA TO RECOGNISE FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES APPLYING FOR LICENCE OR PERMANENT REGISTRATION TO PRACTICE IN INDIA

1. The guiding principle for licensing a foreign medical graduate to practice in India is to ensure that the Foreign Medical Graduate fulfils the requirements of education and training equivalent or commensurate with that of an Indian medical graduate.
2. Eligibility for primary medical qualification in a country outside India:

(i) Duration of course and training in subjects leading to primary medical qualification:

(a) Any person who pursue the foreign medical degree should have undergone a course of theory, practical and clinical training equivalent to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) of India; and

(b) Should have been completed internship of twelve months in addition to such course referred to in clause (a), in the same foreign institution where the primary medical qualification has been obtained, along with hands-on training in clinical subjects including but not limited to Community Medicine, General Medicine, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, General Surgery, Anaesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Emergency or Casualty services, lab services and their sub-specialties.

(ii) Content of course or Training leading to primary medical qualification

(a) The course and internship or clinical clerkship shall commensurate with the MBBS course of India in accordance with the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997and subsequent amendments thereto, and shall include the subjects mentioned therein as are duly recognised by the Commission under sub- section (2) of section 61 of the Act;

(b) The course curriculum shall be made available for review by appropriate authorities, and if necessary, in the website of the institution or university where the course is being pursued at the time of joining the course.

(iii) Location of medical college or institution and administration of the course or training:

The entire course, training and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study and no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than country from where the primary medical qualification is obtained.

(iv) Duration of course:

The total duration of the foreign medical graduation course shall be completed within ten years from the date of joining the course.

-end of the notification-

In terms of the above rules, students may please note that none of the Universities/Medical schools under this Mission’s jurisdiction has a hospital attached with the specialties mentioned in the rules that can offer internship or the degrees awarded by them automatically qualify them to get license to practice in the country of study.

In case you need any clarification about any particular institution in Suriname, Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, please feel free to contact the Embassy of India, Paramaribo by e-mail at consular.paramaribo@mea.gov.in.

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Updated March 24, 2023