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The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
APMC asks FMGs to wait for NMC clarification on internship duration
As the issue of pending Permanent Registrations (PRs) of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in the State gained political traction, with YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy voicing his support for the graduates, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) Chairman Sreehari Rao and Registrar I. Ramesh have clarified that the council is following the National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines. The FMGs had staged protests for four days from Monday last, demanding that the process of issuing PRs to them, pending for more than a year, be expedited. The delay is due to different interpretations of the guidelines issued by the NMC with regard to the duration of internship for the FMGs who have done a part of their course online during the pandemic. In a statement on July 4, the APMC Chairman and Registrar had said that the FMGs who had gone back to their universities in other countries were first allotted one-year internship. The NMC guidelines, released in November 2023, had come into effect later, they said. As per the guidelines, those who studied the penultimate year and final year of their medical courses online due to the pandemic should undergo two years of clerkship. This should be followed by one year of internship to make-up for the offline training. As per the November 2023 guidelines, if the FMGs studied online in their final year only, then they should undergo one year of clerkship and one year of internship. Accordingly, orders were issued to the principals of all medical colleges to communicate the same to the FMGs, they said. The APMC Chairman further said that some FMGs who had a problem with the two and three-year internship duration approached the A.P. High Court, which said that all the rules issued by the Centre and NMC should be followed. Later, an FMG had filed an appeal, the judgment for which was expected. Even while the matter was sub judice, a few FMGs had staged protests, they pointed out. Mr. Sreehari Rao and Mr. Ramesh said that Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav, who had taken note of the issue, instructed the APMC to schedule an appointment with the NMC and seek a solution to the problem. 'The FMGs are not convinced and insist on continuing their agitation despite the Minister's assurance,' the statement said. The APMC had, in its council meeting on June 17, decided to issue PRs for all those with valid compensation certificates from their parent universities. The graduates, at their wits' end, began their silent protest when they felt the process was being delayed once again. Regarding the compensation certificates, Mr. Sreehari Rao and Mr. Ramesh added that these were 'not justified' for their period of online study with offline study. They said the internship for two years was justified because the compensation certificates did not specify the period of online study. The Chairman appealed to the FMGs to wait till the NMC clarified the issue. Support for FMGs Meanwhile, support started pouring for the beleagured FMGs from many medical associations and parties, including the CPI. All India Medical Students' Association's Foreign Medical Graduates' wing released a statement expressing its support for the FMGs and condemning the alleged high-handedness of the police while taking protesting FMGs to police stations. Telangana Junior Doctors' Association, too, expressed its support to their A.P. counterparts. A.P. The Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes' Association criticised the APMC for refusing to issue PRs for 13 months, and added that the issue should be resolved at the earliest as the delay was causing mental distress among the FMGs. The Bharatiya Human Rights Council, a registered organisation, had written to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu demanding justice for the FMGs and abolition of 'arbitrary' allotment of 2-3 years of internship for the FMGs. They demanded that the NMC guidelines, which other States were following, be followed in toto.
Hans India
29-06-2025
- Health
- Hans India
APMC brings renewal services to district level
Tirupati: In a significant move to decentralise medical registration services, the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) launched district-level doctor registration renewals and re-registration services at SV Medical College (SVMC) in Tirupati on Saturday. With this, doctors no longer need to travel to Vijayawada for services other than permanent registration, offering relief to hundreds of medical professionals in the region. The two-day registration drive was inaugurated by district Collector Dr S Venkateswar in the presence of APMC Chairman Dr Daggumati Sreehari Rao. Speaking to the media, Dr Venkateswar described the initiative as a welcome development and urged senior doctors, practicing physicians, and medical students to take full advantage of the services now available locally. He commended the APMC for introducing long-pending reforms that have brought greater ease and flexibility in availing council services. 'The decentralisation of the registration process is a major step forward. I request APMC to continue introducing innovative measures to make the process even more accessible,' he said. Dr Sreehari Rao highlighted that the APMC plans to offer these services at district level every weekend, starting with this initiative in Tirupati. The move aims to reduce travel burdens on senior citizens and practicing doctors seeking re-registration, renewals, or No Objection Certificates (NOCs). A key change introduced includes a reduction in service fees. Doctors under 75 years of age will now pay Rs 8,000 for registration-related services, while those above 75 will pay Rs 6,000, significantly lower than the previous Rs 40,000–Rs 50,000 range. Changes have also been made to Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit requirements. Doctors aged 65–70 now need only 15 credit points over five years, while those between 71–80 need 10. Those above 80 years are exempt. Dr Sreehari Rao announced that meritorious final-year MBBS students from all government and private colleges will be awarded gold medals annually. APMC is also working on WhatsApp-based services for renewals and introducing AI tools to monitor CME attendance. On this occasion, doctors appealed to the Collector for a permanent APMC office in Tirupati to facilitate registrations with more flexibility. The Collector assured that a decision would be taken after discussions with APMC. MLC Dr Cipai Subramanyam also spoke on the occasion, which was attended by SVMC Principal Dr G Ravi Prabhu, SVIMS Director Dr RV Kumar, Superintendents of Ruia and Maternity hospitals Dr J Radha and Dr Prameela, DM&HO Dr V Balakrishna Naik and others.
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh Medical Council launches district-level registration services in Tirupati
For the first time, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) organised the district-level registration and re-registration services of doctors and medicos at Tirupati on Saturday. District Collector S. Venkatesh along with APMC Chairman Daggumati Sreehari Rao inaugurated the district-level renewals and registration programme at S.V. Medical College. Speaking on the occasion, the Collector said, 'The registration and re-registration services for doctors are being launched in Tirupati district under the auspices of the APMC. With this, there is no need to go to Vijayawada for the registration and all other types of services. Senior doctors, medical practitioners and medicos should take advantage of this facility.' The district-level registration and re-registration services are being provided by the council every Saturday and Sunday. Dr. Sreehari Rao was appointed as one of the six members of the APMC by the State government on March 23. He took the oath as the APMC Chairman on April 1 at Dr. NTR Health University Campus, Vijayawada. After assuming charge as the council Chairman, Dr. Sreehari Rao has taken some key decisions including CME (Continuing Medical Education) credit points discount and gold medal to every medical college final year topper. Earlier, there was a renewal after five years. Now, renewal can be done three months in advance. 'Senior citizens and other doctors facing difficulties to come all the way to Vijayawada for certificates and registration services. To reduce these difficulties, several decisions have been taken by the APMC to provide services at the district level. After completing the biometrics once, there is no need to come to the APMC for the rest of their life,' he informed.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
FMGs long wait for Permanent Registrations to end soon
More than 500 Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in Andhra Pradesh can finally heave a sigh of relief as their long wait for Permanent Registrations (PRs) seems to be coming to an end. The FMGs in the State, who studied medical courses equivalent to MBBS outside India, have been waiting for more than a year to get their PRs, a license without which they cannot study further or set up clinics in the country, due to various reasons. Clearing air on the issue, that has been pending since June, 2024, APMC Chairman Daggumati Sreehari Rao told The Hindu that the council, in its general body meeting on June 17, has decided to issue PRs to all those who have valid compensatory certificates and also clarified about the duration of the internships for the batches of FMGs affected by the pandemic. It may be noted that the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) had earlier insisted that the FMGs, who did their penultimate and ultimate years of their courses online, due to the pandemic, must undergo two years of internship irrespective of whether or not they had compensatory certificates. Many FMGs decried the decision, as they said this was against the National Medical Commission (NMC)'s notification of June 19, 2024, that stated that those who wrote their final year exams offline and have compensatory certificates from their parent universities can undergo one year of internship. NMC's notification Now, the Chairman said the council is following the NMC's June 19 notification. 'Those who have done their complete course offline will have to do one year of internship and those who did their penultimate and ultimate years online but went back to write their final exams offline and have compensatory certificates will be allotted one year of internship,' Dr Sreehari Rao said. He said the compensatory certificates should clearly mention the name, the dates of arrival in India and return to their parent university, the duration of the course completed in online mode. He said that the APMC would write to the colleges in the State to relieve those FMGs, who despite having valid compensatory certificates are having to undergo a second year of internship. The process of issuance of PRs to the FMGs will start within a week and is likely to take another week to complete, he said. An official notification regarding the revised guidelines for FMGs affected by the pandemic is yet to be released. It may be noted here that all the FMGs affected belong to the batches during the pandemic and confusion arose due to multiple guidelines from the NMC regarding their duration of internships. At first, the APMC insisted that they undergo two years of internship to be eligible for a PR, then the graduates were told that their compensatory certificates were not clear.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Will resolve FMG issues at the earliest, says medical council Chairperson
Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) (interim) Chairperson Daggumati Sreehari Rao, who assumed charge on Wednesday, said a four-member committee including APMC members and Director of Medical Education has been formed to look into the issues of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), which include granting of Permanent Registrations (PRs). He told The Hindu that while it is not yet clear how long the process will take, but a committee has been formed to speed up the process. 'We have received complaints regarding the delay in the issuance of PRs to FMGs. We have also got to know that some States have issued PRs to FMGs. There is a lot of confusion because of many National Medical Commission guidelines. We will look into it,' Dr. Sreehari Rao said, adding that the committee will check the genuineness of compensatory certificates of FMGs before granting PRs. He also pointed out that around 35,000 allopathy doctors in the State are yet to renew their registrations, which has to be done every five years. 'We are planning to speed up this process as well, by sending our teams to every district. The team will be stationed there for two days, during which members can come and get their registrations renewed,' Dr. Sreehari Rao said, adding that skeletal staff in the APMC had led to the delay in renewing process. He stressed that renewing registrations is important because until the process is completed, they cannot vote in the elections to the APMC. The council has both nominated and elected members. At present, the interim council has six members, all of whom are nominated. 'If elections are to happen, all these doctors should vote, and to excercise their power to vote, their registrations have to be renewed,' he said. It may be noted here that elections have not been held for the past 15 years. The new Chairperson also said they would resume the practice of awarding a gold medal and certificate to meritorious students and top rankers.
