NMC's draft regulations on MBBS internships makes AYUSH training compulsory.

NEW DELHI: Undergraduate students of medicine pursuing MBBS degrees will also have to undergo mandatory internship training in AYUSH -- ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homeopathy and sowa rigpa.

The Draft Regulations for Compulsory Rotating Internship 2021 released by the National Medical Commission 2021 on July 7 includes this provision. An MBBS student has to complete this training, along with postings in 17 other specialities, over 12 months.

The time allotted for an internship in Ayush, either in Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Sidhha, Homeopathy, or Sowa Rigpa is one week.

A candidate can choose any one of the disciplines provided that particular discipline is offered by the same college or institution.

Also, of the 17 specialties, a student should complete a mandatory internship in 14 specialities of which completing a week's internship in AYUSH is one.

The NMC replaced by the Medical Council of India in 2019 and has been issuing fresh regulations on medical education. It has been opposed by the Indian Medical Association -- the doctors' body -- which is against such a system which it describes as "khichdi medical system" promoting "quackery, mixopathy and crosspathy". In December, IMA had organised a strike against the policy of training Ayurveda practitioners in surgery.

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