MSN.COM: New Delhi: Friday, January 24, 2025.
Only 3 per cent of MBBS doctors who had applied for registration in the National Medical Register (NMR), launched by Union Health Minister JP Nadda with much fanfare five months ago, have been enrolled so far, as per a RTI reply. There are over 13 lakh licensed medical practitioners (RMP) in India.
According to the RTI reply, the NMR received 8,598 applications by January 14. However, approval for 8,318 applications is still pending. Of the applications, two have been rejected.
According to RTI activist Dr KV Babu, only 3 per cent of allopathic doctor applications have been approved.
“Of the 8,598 applications filed, 8,318 are still awaiting approval. The RTI reply clearly shows that only 278 applications have been approved by NMC so far,” said Dr Babu, who had filed the RTI on December 30 to know the number of doctors registered in the portal since its launch.
“NMC should understand the implications of 97% non-approval of the applications,” said Dr Babu, who received the reply on January 14.“This means that less than 9,000 out of 13 lakh Indian doctors have even applied for the registration in about five months. The more applications are non-approved, the fewer new applications will come up,” he said.
The NMR is mandated under Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019, which states that the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC shall maintain a national register in the electronic form containing the name, address, and all recognised qualifications possessed by a licensed medical practitioner.
As per the gazette notification of May 10, 2023, enrolling is mandatory in NMR, which Nadda has described as a comprehensive and dynamic database for allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India.
Dr Babu said the delay in registration is because doctors are being asked to upload an Aadhaar and submit an affidavit if their names or state medical council names do not match the current data.
As doctor registration became very complicated, the Indian Medical Association, which has 4 lakh members, took up the matter with NMC last October. “Once the state medical councils approve the registration of a doctor, it should be automatically approved by the EMRB and entered into the NMR register,” Dr Babu said.
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