In a growing concern over mounting internship hurdles, dozens of parents of foreign-return MBBS students staged a protest in Tirupati on Monday, July 21, urging the Andhra Pradesh government to relax the current internship norms.
The protest took place outside a hospital in Tirupati, where parents voiced their grievances against what they claim is an unjust extension of the internship period for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), according to a report by The New Indian Express.
According to Parivardhan Babu, representing the Belarus Medical Students Parents Association, the National Medical Commission (NMC) mandates a one-year Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for FMGs. However, officials at the Andhra Pradesh Dr NTR University of Health Sciences are reportedly enforcing a two-year unpaid internship, which includes one year of clerkship and another year of regular internship.
"This may push the students into unnecessary trouble and adds a huge financial burden on their families," Babu said, adding that this contradicts NMC norms for students who have completed on-campus studies abroad.
Parents and students displayed official NMC notifications to the media during the protest and demanded immediate government intervention. They appealed directly to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and Health Minister Sathyakumar Yadav, urging them to instruct health university authorities to strictly follow the NMC's guidelines and allow eligible students to complete only the mandated one-year CRMI.
This issue is not confined to Tirupati alone. Across the state, hundreds of FMGs have been demanding fair treatment in line with NMC's CRMI Regulations 2021, which require a 12-month internship within two years of clearing FMGE/NExT Step 1.
According to official notices issued by the NMC in late 2023, the extended two-year internship applies only to students who studied online or faced disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine war. Students who underwent full-time, in-person education abroad are eligible for the standard one-year internship, stated the report by The New Indian Express.
One of the other major concerns raised by parents is the delay in issuing permanent registration by the APMC.
Over 1,300 foreign medical graduates in the state are reportedly still waiting for registration. APMC has stated that 253 FMGs have already received permanent recognition between 2023 and 2025 after completing the two-year CRMI, and more registrations will be issued soon in accordance with NMC guidelines.
As pressure mounts from both families and student groups, parents in Tirupati hope their appeal will compel the state leadership to re-evaluate the current enforcement and offer relief to hundreds of affected students striving to begin their medical careers.
