The Union health ministry has extended the MBBS internship cut-off date to 30 June 2023 and an official announcement in this regard is expected soon, official sources said on Thursday.
Presently, the cut-off date for aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship is 31 March 2023, 2023.
The Indian Medical Association, student union bodies, prospective candidates and several state authorities urged the ministry to extend the eligibility date to 30 June 2023.
Sources said that now it is also being requested by the students and their families that if the MBBS internship completion date is extended then the date of the NEET PG examination should also be postponed.
Presently, the NEET PG entrance exam 2023 is scheduled for 5 March 2023.
The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) had also sought an extension of the MBBS internship cut-off date, saying the current decision has far-reaching consequences and has left many students facing a bleak future.
"This unfortunate decision has rendered a majority of current interns across the country ineligible thereby wiping out the competition and leaving a multitude of others in a state of uncertainty," FORDA had said in a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
"This is especially devastating for interns in states such as Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and many others who have been altogether disqualified under this new rule as most of the states currently have interns who will attain their completion after the aforementioned date," the letter further said.
FORDA also said that this unexpected implementation has the potential to engender a plethora of mental agony and unrest amongst the students who are already discomposed and frazzled by the already significant delays and challenges afflicting medical education in India.
