Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday, 25 July 2026, chaired a meeting in Shimla with students and senior officials of the state Health Department, directing that foreign medical graduates who studied online during the COVID-19 pandemic be permitted to complete a one-year internship — ending a prolonged uncertainty that had stalled their careers.

Context

In his post, Chief Minister Sukhu explained that students from the same academic batch had been subjected to unequal internship requirements — some were allowed a one-year internship, while others in identical circumstances were directed to complete two years. The inconsistency arose because these graduates had pursued their MBBS degrees from eligible foreign medical colleges but were compelled to attend online classes due to unavoidable conditions created by the pandemic.

Sukhu directed the Health Department to complete all necessary formalities and issue formal orders 'jald se jald' [as soon as possible], so that affected students can begin their internships without further delay.

Policy Backdrop

The National Medical Commission (NMC), India's apex medical education regulator, had issued guidelines in 2021–2022 to address the recognition of online medical education for foreign graduates seeking Indian registration. However, varying interpretations by states and institutions created a patchwork of internship durations across the same graduating cohorts.

Several state governments moved post-2020 to standardise internship periods for foreign-trained Indian doctors affected by pandemic disruptions. Himachal Pradesh's directive now aligns with this broader national effort to clear COVID-era backlogs and bring uniformity to medical education outcomes.

Stakeholders and Impact

The students most directly affected are Indian nationals who enrolled in foreign medical colleges — many in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, China, and the Philippines — and found their clinical training disrupted when campuses shut down during the pandemic. Being required to serve an additional year of internship compared to batchmates placed them at a significant professional and financial disadvantage.

The Himachal Pradesh Health Department will now be responsible for processing individual applications, verifying eligibility, and issuing formal internship approval orders. Once cleared, these graduates can begin contributing to the state's healthcare workforce — an important consideration given India's ongoing shortage of trained doctors, particularly in hill states.

What's Next

The immediate step is the issuance of formal orders by the Himachal Pradesh Health Department, which Sukhu has directed to be completed urgently. Stakeholders will watch whether the NMC issues complementary national-level clarifications to prevent similar inconsistencies in other states.

If Himachal Pradesh's approach gains traction, it could serve as a template for other state governments still grappling with unresolved internship disputes among their COVID-affected foreign medical graduates — accelerating the re-entry of hundreds of doctors into the domestic healthcare system.