New Delhi : In a good news to the Medical Fraternity, the Union health ministry is reviewing the bond policy which included bond amount for non-performance of mandatory duty in rural healthcare system. The Union health ministry is working to finalise regulations to eliminate the bond policy for doctors in view of the suggestion by the National Medical Commission, as per reports cited by PTI.
For MBBS, the bond amount varies significantly by state, ranging from Rs 5 lakh in Goa, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu to Rs 1 crore in Uttarakhand, and up to Rs 2-2.5 crore in Kerala, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra for postgraduate and super-specialty programmes. Additionally, the length of mandatory duty varies from one to five years.
“In a meeting, it was observed that there is a consensus that there should be mandatory rural service to enhance the availability of doctors in rural and remote areas with flexibility. Also, the bond could be non-financial and implemented through an administrative mechanism,” the source said. “The health ministry is working to finalise guidelines for doing away with the bond policy based on the recommendations by NMC,” the source added.
