As a relief to several Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in the state, the Rajasthan government has added 500 new MBBS internship seats across five government medical colleges in the state.

The decision comes in the wake of ongoing protests by FMGs, with over 300 candidates left without internship placements despite clearing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE). On January 9, these students launched an indefinite sit-in protest, demanding a second round of counselling to accommodate the 341 students who missed out on internships during the initial round.

The state government’s new measure involves adding 100 internship seats each to the following medical colleges: Government Medical College (GMC) Baran, GMC Banaswara, GMC Sawai Madhopur, GMC Magaur, and GMC Jhunjhunun. This move aims to address the shortage of internship positions for FMGs in the state.

This isn’t the first time FMGs in Rajasthan have faced challenges with internship placements. In December 2024, another protest took place in front of the Department of Medical Education’s office in Jaipur, with FMGs alleging that medical councils in other states had held additional rounds of counselling for students who missed out in the first round.

The protesting students claimed that such actions were often not taken by the Rajasthan Medical Council, which has been criticised for not announcing internship counselling on time.

FMGs in Rajasthan have long been vocal about their grievances, with protests becoming a recurring issue. In April 2023, around 1,000 FMGs staged a similar protest, demanding better access to internship opportunities after a limited number of seats were available in the state.