Maharashtra may scrap post-MBBS rural service bond as there are ‘sufficient doctors’

MBBS Course: The Maharashtra government is considering scrapping the mandatory bond service for MBBS graduates, which has been in place in the state in some shape or form for several decades.

In a meeting led by the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis around two months ago, ministers and officials from the state medical education and public health departments discussed ending the one-year rural stint for undergraduate (UG) programmes, while keeping it intact for the post-graduate (PG) and super-speciality courses.

The public health department was directed to act in the light of this discussion, though no decision has been reached yet, said an official.

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The bond service policy was first introduced in the state in 1960s to tide over shortage of doctors in the rural areas and allow doctors to give back to the society after having availed subsidised education at government medical colleges. Besides government college graduates, even candidates who benefit from various scholarships and fee concessions at private medical colleges are required to serve the bond. While the graduates could earlier skip the one-year service by paying a Rs 10 lakh penalty, the provision was withdrawn in 2022, making it a 'unilateral' bond.

More MBBS seats, more doctors

However, the CM-led meeting, held on July 9 to review the public health department's activities, concluded that the policy is no longer needed thanks to the ample availability of doctors in rural centres due to increase in MBBS seats in recent years. It was also pointed out that the policy didn't succeed, as the bonded doctors would often remain absent from the work.

"The objective of the 2006 bond policy for the graduates from Maharashtra's government colleges was to make doctors available in the rural areas. However, the number of MBBS seats [has] tripled (4,555 in 2006 to 11,795 in 2025) in the interim period. Besides, the government's policy to have one medical college in each district has resulted in sufficient doctors. Hence, the vacancies for medical officers [have] reduced," read the minutes of the meeting.

"Considering the rising number of doctors and the graduates' inclination towards public service, the post-MBBS bond policy should be scrapped and the interested doctors should be directly recruited. However, the mandatory service after PG and super-speciality should be continued," show the meeting records.

An official from the state directorate of medical education and research (DMER) told Careers360 that the government is still looking into the issue.

Maharashtra: MBBS rural service bond

The scope and rules about the rural bond service have changed intermittently over the last years. According to Pravin Shingare, former director of medical education, the bond service was first implemented at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) Pune to draft medical graduates from the institute for the Sino-Indian war in 1962. The policy was expanded to all government medical colleges in the state during the 1971 war with Pakistan.

"After the war got over, the state government, around 1975, added rural service to the bond field work to mitigate the shortage of medical professionals in rural healthcare facilities. Around the turn of the millennium, when the rural healthcare facilities were upgraded, there arose a need for PG doctors. Hence the bond was introduced for them too. A couple of years later, it was further extended to super speciality graduates," said Shingare.

With the majority of the doctors opting out of rural service by paying the penalty, the bond amount was increased to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2 crore for UG, PG and super-speciality courses, respectively. In 2022, the state even did away with this facility for MBBS graduates.

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The deliberations over the utility of bond service came around a month after the Maharashtra government put on hold a 2017 rule that required the MD/MS candidates to first serve their post-MBBS bond in order to be eligible for PG admissions. Before the rule was introduced, the medicos could finish their bond after higher education.

‘Convert into GR,’ say MBBS graduates

The change in norms had put the recently-graduated MBBS batch in jeopardy, as students were struggling to be placed at the limited number of positions available for them in rural healthcare centres.

They have now welcomed the state move towards completely doing away with the bond requirement and are hoping that it translates to an official decision.

“The rural centres lack basic facilities, making it tough to serve patients effectively. This change will allow genuinely interested doctors to join government service rather than being forced into it. I strongly urge that these minutes be converted into an official Government Resolution (GR) at the earliest, to give a much-needed relief to all bonded doctors," said Bhagyesh Murumkar, an MBBS graduate awaiting a posting.

Muzaffar Khan, a Thane based medical education counsellor, estimates that around 3,000 graduates are in the queue for their bond assignments. "Even those who have been posted are in a dilemma as to whether they should join the service. The final decision should be made as early as possible," he said.

However, some believe that the state may not move beyond these deliberations. "The bond service penalties are an important revenue source for the government. Even if the suggestion has come from the CM, the finance department will likely reject it," said a senior faculty member at a Mumbai medical college.