Trouble seems to follow Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in India yet again, as FMGs from several states have reported that their state medical councils have not commenced the enrollments for their Compulsory Rotating Medical Internships (CRMI) yet.
These FMGs, despite clearing the FMG exam when it was conducted in January 2025, allege that they have received no update on when their internships would actually begin.
“Every time we ask for an update, we are only given dates, but they never begin,” an FMG from Bihar said, on the condition of anonymity. She adds that after they cleared the FMGE, they were told that their internships would start from March. However, the Bihar Council for Medical Registration (BCMR), the regulatory body for medical registration in the state, kept pushing the dates.
Persistent problem in several states
This lack of clarity on the commencement of internships for FMGs is not just limited to Bihar — FMGs from several other states are also facing the brunt of delays by their respective state medical councils.
“Several aspirants from the state have reached out to me, stating that the UP Medical Council has provided them no update on the matter of their internships,” says Dr Sudhanshu Pandey, Uttar Pradesh State Unit President, Doctors’ Welfare Federation (DWF).
The issue of delayed internship allotment to FMGs is not something new.
In the past, Foreign Medical Graduates from states and union territories like Kerala, Haryana, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan faced abnormal delays in internships.
More recently, FMGs from Rajasthan even staged protests in front of the Department of Medical Education of the state in December 2024 and January 2025, alleging that several FMGs were left without internships after the counselling for FMGE July 2024 was concluded.
In West Bengal, FMGs allege that those who cleared FMGE in July 2024 have yet to be allotted CRMI slots.
“We are told that the West Bengal Medical Council is not releasing internships for FMGs due to financial constraints, and asked us to wait till the internship counselling for the January 2025 FMGE pass-outs begins. However, even they haven’t received any update about the internships,” says Shayeque Reza, who passed the FMGE in July 2024.
No communication from States
Moreover, whenever FMGs try to approach the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which regulates the conduct of the FMGE, or their respective state medical councils, they are met with one response (or lack thereof) — radio silence.
“When we approach BCMR for clarity on when CRMI slots would open, they would ask us to approach colleges. When we approach colleges, they ask us to approach the BCMR. Nobody has the answers,” the FMG from Bihar said.
She added that, unlike other state medical councils, such as Delhi, the BCMR does not even respond to activism and pressure tactics like social media campaigns.
Similar is the case in UP and West Bengal, where their Departments of Medical Education merely offer verbal assurances to FMGs and association leaders who lobby for them, with no substantial action.
“We tried approaching Swasthya Bhavan (in WB) several times, but the officials weren’t able to help us as the Department of Health in the state comes directly under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” says Shayeque. He adds that even ministers who they met weren’t able to provide any support.
Delays leading to distress
Across these states, FMGs told EdexLive that these delays, with no relief in sight, have left them stressed and restless.
“After four years of study and six months of preparation for FMGE, we are being asked to wait for six more months. At this rate, it would take us seven years to become qualified doctors,” the FMG from Bihar stated.
She adds that due to this delay, FMGs in Bihar have no chance of appearing for the NEET-PG (National Eligibilty-cum-Entrance Test - Postgraduate) next year, as they would need their CRMI completion certificates to register for the postgraduate medical entrance exam.
“Our hands are tied; we feel trapped sitting at home,” she lamented.
Echoing similar feelings, Shayeque said, “We’ve been waiting for the last 10 months now, with no update in sight. Everyone is asking us when our internships would begin, or what our plan of action is, and we are unable to answer them.”
He adds that this delay is also acting as a financial burden on them, as they want to earn money and contribute to their households through their stipends, but are unable to do so. Many FMGs also have student loans, and a growing pressure to repay them.
“FMGs in UP are choosing to seek CRMI in other states, like Madhya Pradesh as the counselling process is already underway there,” says Dr Pandey.
