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India: same institution, English medium and the listed subjects in Schedule I

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

India's National Medical Commission sets out, in Schedule I to the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations, 2021, the criteria for licensing a foreign medical graduate to practise in India. On the three points covered here, Schedule I requires the entire course, training and internship to be done in the same foreign institution, outside India. The Commission's FAQ on the regulations gives English as the medium of instruction and lists the subjects the course must cover. This is India's rule, for people who seek a licence or permanent registration to practise in India; for the wider picture, see this register's section page on practising back home.

Who the regulations cover

The FMGL Regulations, 2021 concern a person who does not have a basic graduation or primary qualification from any university, medical college or institution in India and who seeks a licence for medical practice in India (FAQ, Q1, citing regulation 2(c)).

Regulation 5(1)(a) and (b) say the regulations do not apply to foreign medical graduates who acquired their foreign degree or primary qualification before the regulations came into force, or to candidates who were pursuing their education in foreign institutions before then. Regulation 5(2) says such people shall be governed by the erstwhile applicable regulations. The FAQ gives 18 November 2021 as the date the regulations came into force, in its answers to Q2 and Q4.

Whether a particular course meets these criteria is a decision for the Indian authorities.

Where the whole course must be done

Schedule I, paragraph 2(iii) reads: "The entire course, training and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study and no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than country from where the primary medical qualification is obtained."

Schedule I, paragraph 2(i)(b) requires a twelve-month internship "in the same foreign institution where the primary medical qualification has been obtained".

The FAQ's answer to Q11 asks whether FMGs may transfer to an Indian medical college for internship and exams. The answer is "No", and it cites Schedule I, paragraph 2(iii).

Medium of instruction

Schedule I names no medium of instruction. The FAQ's answer to Q6, which asks what the medium of instruction should be during the course, is "English". The FAQ cites regulation 4(a)(iii) of the FMGL Regulations, 2021 for this answer.

Subjects listed in Schedule I

Schedule I, paragraph 2(i)(a) requires "a course of theory, practical and clinical training equivalent to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) of India".

Schedule I, paragraph 2(i)(b) requires hands-on training in clinical subjects "including but not limited to" the following:

  • Community Medicine
  • General Medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Paediatrics
  • General Surgery
  • Anaesthesia
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology
  • Orthopaedics
  • Otorhinolaryngology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Dermatology
  • Emergency or Casualty services
  • lab services and their sub-specialties

Schedule I, paragraph 2(ii)(a) says the course and internship or clinical clerkship "shall commensurate with the MBBS course of India" under the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 and subsequent amendments, and "shall include the subjects mentioned therein as are duly recognised by the Commission under sub-section (2) of section 61 of the Act". The FAQ's answer to Q7 names the Act as the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

Schedule I, paragraph 2(ii)(b) says the course curriculum "shall be made available for review by appropriate authorities", and, if necessary, on the website of the institution or university where the course is being pursued at the time of joining the course.

The five areas in the July 2025 alert note

The Undergraduate Medical Education Board of the National Medical Commission (India) issued Alert Note No. U-15021/1/2024-UGMEB. The header prints the date as "July, 2025", without a day.

Paragraph 1 of the note refers to the Commission's public notices dated 8 August 2023 and 22 November 2024. It says Indian students seeking registration to practise allopathy in India after study at foreign institutions were advised to ensure strict compliance with the FMGL Regulations, 2021, notified on 18 November 2021.

The same paragraph says students were specifically cautioned that any deviation in the following areas may result in disqualification from obtaining registration in India:

  • duration of the course
  • medium of instruction
  • syllabus and curriculum
  • clinical training
  • internship or clerkship arrangements

About the FAQ

The FAQ's disclaimer says the FAQs "are in the nature of explanation for ease of understanding of the general public and cannot be upheld in a court of law", and it refers readers to the relevant gazette notifications for legal validity. The regulation is the source for the rule, and the FAQ gives plain-language answers to it.

Questions people ask

Can any part of the internship be done in India?

Schedule I, paragraph 2(iii) says no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than the country from which the primary medical qualification is obtained. The FAQ's answer to Q11 is "No" to transfer to an Indian medical college for internship and exams, and it cites the same paragraph.

What medium of instruction does the FAQ give?

The FAQ's answer to Q6 is "English", and it cites regulation 4(a)(iii) of the FMGL Regulations, 2021. Schedule I itself names no medium of instruction.

Does Schedule I give a closed list of subjects?

Schedule I, paragraph 2(i)(b) introduces its list of clinical subjects with the words "including but not limited to". The list is followed by "lab services and their sub-specialties".

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

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