Indian medical students abroad with incomplete internship due to Covid-19, war to get relief

New Delhi: Indian students pursuing medical studies abroad who could not complete their internship due to compelling situations such as war and the Covid pandemic will now be able to finish their remaining internship in the country, the government said on Friday.

This will, however, be subject to the condition that such candidates must have cleared FMGE (screening test), which is mandatory for Indian students with foreign medical qualification to practice medicine in India, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

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She was responding to a question on whether the government proposes to frame a scheme for admission of students who have returned from China and those evacuated from Ukraine to medical colleges in the country and also to allow them to do their internship here.

Pawar in her written reply said section 14 of the NMC Act, 2019 prescribes conducting of a uniform entrance examination namely National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to all medical educational institutions at undergraduate and post-graduate level. Also, Clause 8 (iv) of Eligibility Requirement for Taking Admission in an Undergraduate Medical Course in a Foreign Medical Institution Regulation, 2002 provides for that any Indian citizens/Overseas citizen of India intending to obtain primary medical qualification from any medical institution outside India, on or after May 2018, shall have to mandatorily qualify the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for Admission to MBBS course.

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The result of the NEET shall deem to be treated as the Eligibility Certificate for such persons and no separate permission required from NMC, Pawar said. Therefore, data of students going abroad to pursue MBBS is not maintained centrally. "The NMC, for the betterment of Indian student pursuing medical studies abroad, vide circular dated 04.03.2022 has allowed foreign medical graduates with incomplete internship due to such compelling situation which is beyond their control such as war and COVID-19 pandemic etc. to complete their remaining part of internship in India subject to the condition that such candidates must have cleared FMGE (Screening Test), which is mandatory for Indian students with foreign medical qualification to practice medicine in India," she said. PTI PLB ZMN