GENERAL

The Gazette of India by NMC for MBBS Abroad

Nishchay Kumar • 5 Mins read • 15 May 25

If you are an Indian student planning to pursue an MBBS abroad, then having knowledge about the Gazette of India by NMC for MBBS Abroad is an important aspect. The National Medical Commission (NMC) which replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) issues extensive rules and regulations through official gazette notifications. NMC rules and regulations for MBBS Abroad 2025 are already circulated. The NMC Guidelines for MBBS Abroad determine whether your MBBS degree is recognized in India or not. NMC's latest news for Foreign students provides information about steps you must follow to be able to practice medicine after homecoming.

According to the latest updates and advisories, published in early May 2025, the National Medical Commission released a new Gazette regarding the new rules and regulations for studying MBBS Abroad. This gazette has mentioned some changes and restrictions about the medical degree (MBBS) from any university.

What does one need to do to get a medical degree that will be valid in India?

Is your medical degree valid in India?

Let's see about the new rule that has been released earlier by NMC about studying MBBS Abroad.

I will focus on all the important points and explain them very well here.

What does it focus on?

The Gazette of India which was released on 18th November 2021, focuses on some important points:

Course duration for MBBS Abroad
Required eligibility to practice in India after MBBS from Abroad
Multiple campus studies not allowed
Mandatory subjects
To whom it is applicable

Course Duration for MBBS Abroad

The Gazette mainly focuses on and mentions the course duration of the MBBS/MD course from any university.

It says that the MBBS degree will not be valid unless it has a course duration of 54 months. It must be noted that this 54-month duration does not include an internship.

The Gazette explains the internship, minimum duration, and maximum duration of MBBS Abroad.

It is compulsory to get an MBBS degree from the institute with a minimum of 54 months of course duration.
After completion of 54 months, another 12 months of internship is compulsory from the same institute.
The course should not take more than 10 years after the date of admission to complete.

Check out this screenshot of the Gazette Document

You can view the complete document here: Gazette of India by NMC

The whole course should be completed in English medium only

This means that a medical degree from another medium like Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, or any other medium of teaching, would not be valid in India.

Some of the foreign universities offer MBBS in their local language medium. So students should take into consideration that while going for MBBS Abroad, they must take admission to English medium only.

Required Eligibility to Practice in India after MBBS from Abroad

The NMC further mentioned in the Gazette that even after completing the valid duration of the MBBS course from a foreign university/institute the students would be eligible to practice in India only when:

Students must be eligible to practice their medicine in the respective country from where they complete the MBBS/MD course.
After completion of the course from foreign universities, students should undergo 12 months of internship in India as well.
Students must clear the National Exit Test (NEXT) or similar screening test of NMC.

Multiple Campuses Study not allowed

Sometimes the students choose to do the first year of their medical degree from one institute and then shift to another institute for their further duration.

There are some other cases like MBBS in the Philippines where students choose to do the BS course from India and go to the Philippines only for the MD course. The National Medical Commission has abandoned that process now.

According to this Gazette, the whole degree should be completed from one institute only. The course completed from different institutes would not be valid.

Mandatory Subjects

The Gazette of India for MBBS Abroad clearly states that the students should have covered the following subjects in their theory and/or internship. The clinical subjects mentioned below should be in their syllabus and the degree would be valid in India only if the mentioned subjects are covered in their curriculum.

The clinical subjects include but are not limited to:

Community Medicine
General Medicine
Psychiatry
Pediatrics
General Surgery
Anesthesia
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Orthopaedics
Otorhinolaryngology,
Ophthalmology
Dermatology
Emergency or Casualty services

To whom it is applicable

Apart from the above-mentioned points, there is on

e main point that should be taken into consideration. This point states whether this new rule is applicable to you or not. Whether your current degree is valid in India or not. If your admission is already done and you are pursuing an MD course already, would you be able to practice in India?

Well, there is no need to be afraid for those students who are already (before 18th November 2021) taking education in some foreign universities.

This rule is applicable for the students admitted to MBBS Abroad after the date of release of this Gazette i.e. 18th November 2021.
This does not apply to students who have already taken admission or started studying the medicine course.
This is not applicable to those who have already completed the degree before the release of this rule.
It does not apply to those who have been specially exempted by the Central Government of India.

So, the new Gazette mentioned many new rules for studying abroad for an MBBS. Yet students need not worry about it. New students need to take this rule in mind and choose their university and country wisely for an MBBS degree.

Clearly, the Gazette only specifies the rules about practicing medicine in India.

So the students still have other options like practicing in foreign countries. One can pass the screening test of the respective country ex. USMLE for the USA and start practicing their medicine there.