VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Wednesday held a high-level meeting at Dr NTR University of Health Sciences to address the prolonged challenges faced by foreign medical graduates seeking permanent registration in Andhra Pradesh.
The meeting was attended by Vice-Chancellor Dr. Chandrasekhar, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) Chairman Dr. Srihari Rao, Registrar Dr. Ramesh, Director of Medical Education Dr. Narasimham, and other senior officials.
Minister Yadav stressed the urgency of resolving the backlog applications, particularly those submitted after 2021, which remain pending due to ambiguity in the National Medical Council’s (NMC) directives. The key issue is the NMC’s requirement for a one-to-two-year internship in India for students who pursued part of their medical studies online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yadav directed APMC Chairman Dr. Srihari Rao and Registrar Dr. Ramesh to visit New Delhi and hold talks with NMC officials, presenting the grievances of affected students and seeking policy clarification.
Officials informed that applications submitted up to 2021 had been processed, but post-2021 applicants face delays due to the unclear internship guidelines.
Reiterating the need to maintain educational standards, Yadav said the system must also support students trained abroad. His intervention has raised hopes among hundreds of foreign medical graduates.