Foreign Medical Graduates in Tamil Nadu are preparing for a one-day hunger strike on January 6, 2026 as frustration grows over long delays in securing compulsory internships. The protest is being organised by the Doctors Association for Social Equality and the Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association Foreign Wing. Both groups say the Tamil Nadu Medical Council has been slow to act on National Medical Commission guidelines that already permit FMGs to begin internships.
Many FMGs cleared the national screening exam months ago. Some have been waiting more than a year for provisional registration and internship allotment. Students say they are stuck in a painful cycle of waiting with no clarity from the authorities. Without internships, they cannot apply for permanent registration or postgraduate training, leaving their medical careers at a standstill.
Representatives highlight that around 1,500 FMGs pass out every year in Tamil Nadu but internship seats for them remain limited. Only 393 seats have been allotted across government medical colleges, creating long queues and wait periods that can exceed 18 months. Students point out that the NMC already allowed FMG internships in district and non teaching hospitals in 2022, but the state council has not implemented this.
At the press briefing in Chennai, the associations listed their core demands. They want 20 percent of all internship seats in Tamil Nadu reserved for FMGs. They also want the government to restart FMG internships in government medical colleges and extend training opportunities to district hospitals as permitted by national guidelines.
Students have asked the state to provide hostel facilities during their Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship. They have also appealed against what they describe as an unusually long internship requirement in Tamil Nadu, where FMGs are sometimes asked to train for up to two or three years, which does not align with national standards.
The associations went beyond FMG specific issues and urged the government to waive tuition fees for SC and ST medical students and review the Economically Weaker Sections reservation system, arguing that the policy does not reflect social realities. They also recommended creating support centers at both the state and national level for Indian medical students studying abroad.
The situation worsened when the Tamil Nadu Medical Council allegedly stopped the earlier practice of allowing FMGs to take internships in 11 medical colleges without giving a clear explanation.
In 2021, the share of seats under the internship scheme for FMGs was reduced from 10 percent to 7.5 percent even as the number of returning graduates continued to rise. Students believe this mismatch has contributed to the present backlog and anxiety.
(Rh/ARC)
