The National Medical Commission (NMC) has released a comprehensive new public notice to clear the air for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) whose studies were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine.
This latest announcement serves as a final rulebook to replace previous, often confusing guidelines. Specifically, the NMC is addressing students who were forced to return to India during their final years of study and completed their degrees via online classes.
For months, FMGs have sought clarity on how to validate their degrees since Indian regulations typically do not fully recognize online medical education. Previous notices issued in late 2023 and mid-2024 attempted to address this, but a flood of questions from students and state medical councils persisted.
To streamline the process, the NMC has officially withdrawn its notice dated March 6, 2026, and replaced it with this new, unambiguous version to ensure that every state follows the same rules.
The notice focuses on two main groups:
The NMC has clarified that to be eligible for registration in India, these students must undergo a specific period of clerkship in addition to the standard Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI). This ensures that any clinical skills missed during online learning are regained through hands-on experience in Indian hospitals.
To make the rules easier to navigate, the NMC has attached a detailed FAQ table to the notice, answering specific scenarios faced by students. The goal is to move away from case-by-case appeals and toward a uniform standard that protects the quality of healthcare in India while also being fair to students caught in international crises.
