927 MBBS graduates assigned one year of mandatory government service in the state

According to a report by The Hindu newspaper, a total of 927 MBBS graduates who completed their studies under the government quota in government as well as private medical colleges of the state and finished their internships have been assigned mandatory government medical service for one year by the Health and Family Welfare Department. All these medical graduates completed their studies under the government quota during the academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21 and finished their internships in 2026.

However, due to the unavailability of vacancies in government hospitals and health centres of the state, around 3,210 medical graduates have been exempted from this mandatory service. Regarding this, an official of the department stated that earlier, due to fewer medical seats, the number of graduating students was also less, but now the situation has changed and the number of graduates is higher than the available vacancies for inclusion under the mandatory rural service.

This mandatory service period is of a full one year. If any candidate leaves the job in the middle of this service, a penalty is imposed. If any candidate remains officially absent for 30 days, they do not get the option to rejoin the job, and they have to pay a penalty of approximately ₹15 lakh.

As per the rules, medical doctors will have to mandatorily register on the mobile-based real-time attendance system (KAMS) from the date of reporting for duty. Certificates will be issued to doctors only after fulfilling this requirement and successfully completing the one-year term. In addition, graduates considered responsible for mandatory government medical service are not permitted to handle medico-legal cases.

All these arrangements have been implemented for medical graduates who have emerged after receiving training from government and private colleges, with officials clarifying that this decision has been taken due to limited vacancies against the increasing number of graduates.