NMC- National Medical Commission has told the Supreme Court that final-year medical students who returned to India due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and got degrees on a date to be announced will be allowed to sit for the FMG exam.

In an affidavit on June 23, the National Medical Commission stated upon permitting the FMG (Foreign Medical Graduate) exam. The foreign medical graduates will be required to undergo a CRMI (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) for two years instead of the existing one-year norm. The foreign medical graduates will only be eligible for admission after completing the CRMI for two years. NMC affidavit also clarified the duration of the internship period, which has been changed from one to two years to make up for the clinical training which could not be physically attended by the foreign graduate during their course in the institutes abroad and to familiarise them with the practice of medicine under Indian conditions.

On July 25, taking note of the NMC's stand, the apex court said that the compliance report filed along with the affidavit dated July 23 is taken record. The Supreme Court, on April 29, administered the regulatory body to prepare a strategy in two months to allow MBBS students affected by the Russia-Ukraine war and covid-19 to complete their clinical training in medical colleges here as a one-time measure.

In the affidavit, NMC said its UGMEB (Undergraduate Medical Education Board) communicated and reflected regarding foreign medical graduates in various meetings after the April 29 judgment. Along with the inputs from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the issue was considered by the Union Health Ministry, which was passed on by the consulates of India from Ukraine, Russia, and China, among others. During the considerations between the officials of the health ministry, members of UGMEB, and MEA, it was mentioned that around 20,672 Indian students are registered in different medical universities and colleges in Ukraine, all of which are offered online classes to them.

In its affidavit, The National Medical Commission reported that the Ministry of Education and Science, Ukraine, has led the heads of educational institutions to continue the educational procedure while assuring the most promising education conditions, taking into account the location of staff and students. It said that students are unrestricted to choose for themselves clinical bases for acquiring practical skills, and substitute academic mobility was offered to the students to pursue their education throughout the time they resume being enrolled as a student at the university.