National Medical Commission: Ukraine returnees can migrate for MBBS

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, November 22

In a major relief to Indian medical students who returned from Ukraine following the war with Russia and faced interruption of the academic cycle, the National Medical Commission on Wednesday said the students could migrate or transfer to any country outside India to complete their MBBS course.

In a notification today, the NMC Undergraduate Medical Education Board said it had decided to allow one-time relaxation to students whose MBBS degrees could not be completed due to return from Ukraine.

“In continuation to the earlier scheme dated September 15, 2022, namely Academic Mobility Program, the NMC has decided to extend such a scheme as a one-time measure to the FMGs (foreign medical graduates) returning from Ukraine to avail the benefits of said scheme and complete their remaining medical course. The degree may, however, be awarded by the university to where they shall migrate. This option of transfer/migration/mobility shall be availed within three months from the date of issue of this public notice.”

The relaxation is crucial as the NMC Act mandates that Indians who go abroad should complete their entire MBBS course from the same university where they have enrolled. That alone makes them eligible to take Foreign Medical Graduates Examination. The latest notification was issued today to clarify matters for the 2021 batch of Ukraine-returned medical students who have been protesting for over a year for one-time relaxation.