PG Times

MBBS graduates pursuing postgraduate (PG) studies will soon have to compulsorily serve one year in villages before they get their PG degrees. In a move meant to address shortage of medical practitioners in rural areas, the BJP Government has asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) to change the existing three-year medical PG course to accommodate within its duration a year-long mandatory village posting for medics pursuing PG. This decision is in contrast to the one taken by the previous UPA Government which had made one-year rural posting for MBBS graduates an eligibility for writing the PG exam. The BJP Government, after discussions with stakeholders, has decided to shelve the previous regime’s recommendation of either considering the village posting a precondition to write the PG test or extend the MBBS duration by a year to accommodate the said village posting period. “All stakeholders resisted the previous decision. We have brainstormed on the issue and decided that...

The war between the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the health ministry escalated by another notch with the ministry issuing a public notice rendering void an MCI decision on teacher eligibility qualifications. The latest stand-off comes close on the heels of the recent fracas between the council and the ministry regarding slashing of medical college seats. On that occasion, the MCI after some resistance relented by restoring all seats in government medical colleges, but stuck to its stance of not restoring seats in private medical colleges.   The ministry's public notice was regarding the MCI's decision to make DNB (diplomate of national board) holders ineligible to teach without their doing three more years of training in a recognized medical college. The notice stated that the MCI letter dated April 9, 2014 was "void ab-initio". It went on to add: "Such kind of instructions which are contrary to the provisions contained in IMC Act, 1956, rul...

Notification published in leading newspapers on 7th September 2014.