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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
