India is facing a silent but serious public health crisis—one that does not come from a virus or natural disaster, but from within the healthcare system itself. More than 8,000 doctors, holding foreign MBBS degrees, are allegedly practicing medicine across the country using fake, irregular, or unverifiable registrations, raising alarming questions about patient safety, regulatory failure, and institutional accountability.
This is not a case of minor procedural lapses. It is a systemic breakdown that threatens lives.
Degrees from Abroad, Verification Missing
Every year, thousands of Indian students pursue medical education overseas. While many are genuinely qualified, Indian law mandates that foreign medical graduates must pass screening tests and undergo strict verification before being allowed to practice in India. However, investigations and reports suggest that thousands bypassed these checks, secured registrations through questionable means, and began treating patients without legal clearance.
The result: individuals functioning as licensed doctors without proper validation of competence.
Who Enabled These Registrations?
The most disturbing question remains unanswered—who registered these doctors?
Was it state medical councils?
Were documents forged or ignored?
Was there active collusion between officials, intermediaries, and private interests?
Despite the scale of the issue, no major accountability has been fixed so far. No comprehensive public audit. No list of guilty officials. No decisive nationwide crackdown.
Patients Pay the Price
Unverified doctors don’t just violate rules—they endanger lives. Misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment, surgical errors, and delayed referrals can have fatal consequences. For patients, there is no way to distinguish between a legitimate doctor and one practicing illegally. Trust, once broken, becomes the biggest casualty.
Health experts warn that allowing such practices to continue amounts to a national health emergency, not merely a regulatory lapse.
Regulatory Silence Raises Alarm
The National Medical Commission (NMC) and state medical councils are expected to safeguard medical standards. Yet, the continued presence of thousands of allegedly illegal practitioners points to weak enforcement, poor monitoring, and possible corruption.
Public health activists are now demanding:
●A nationwide audit of foreign medical graduate registrations
●Immediate suspension of suspect licenses
●Criminal action against officials involved
●A transparent public disclosure of findings
A Question That Demands Answers
When unverified individuals are allowed to play with human lives, can it still be called negligence? Or is it a crime against public health?
Until responsibility is fixed and action taken, this shadow crisis will continue—quietly, dangerously, and at the cost of innocent lives.
