Mansoor Peer
Srinagar, May 29: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed extending the maximum duration for completing the MBBS course along with the compulsory rotatory medical internship from nine years to ten years.
The proposal was issued through the draft “Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2026” notified in the Gazette of India on May 18, 2026.
Under the proposed amendment, “no student shall be allowed to continue undergraduate medical courses after ten (10) years of joining the first MBBS course (including continuous rotatory medical internship).”
At present, the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER), 2023 state that “no student shall be allowed to continue undergraduate medical courses after nine (09) years from the date of admission into the course.”
However, the NMC has retained the existing restriction on first-year MBBS examinations. The draft regulations state that “under no circumstances the student shall be allowed more than four (04) attempts for first year (First Professional MBBS).”
The proposed amendment seeks to substitute Clause 21 of Chapter V of the GMER 2023 dealing with the competency-based dynamic curriculum at undergraduate level.
The notification, issued by NMC Secretary Dr. Raghav Langer, stated that the amendment has been prepared following due procedure and approved by the competent authority.
“The said draft Regulation (amendment) shall be taken into consideration on or after the expiry of a period of thirty (30) days,” the notification reads, while inviting objections and suggestions from stakeholders.
According to reports, the move comes amid concerns that the existing nine-year limit was insufficient for some students facing academic delays or interruptions during the course.
The amendment also explicitly includes the compulsory rotatory medical internship within the total permissible duration for completing MBBS.
The Commission has asked stakeholders to submit objections and suggestions through email at ug gmer_amend_2026@nmc.org.in in the prescribed format within 30 days from the date the draft regulations were made public.
The principal Graduate Medical Education Regulations were originally notified on June 2, 2023.