Why Maharashtra scrapped its 20-year MBBS bond rule for newly qualified doctors

After nearly two decades, Maharashtra has abolished the compulsory one-year bond service that MBBS graduates had to complete before moving ahead with their careers.

The state government said the system, introduced in 2006 to tackle a shortage of doctors in rural areas, had become impractical because the number of medical graduates had grown much faster than the number of government postings available.

WHY THE RULE WAS SCRAPPED

When the bond policy began, Maharashtra had around 4,500 MBBS seats. Today, that number has crossed 11,000, while government departments still have only a limited number of bond positions.

This left thousands of young doctors waiting months, and sometimes longer, for postings. Many could not pursue postgraduate medical courses despite qualifying because completing the bond was a mandatory requirement.

The government also noted that many fresh MBBS graduates took up the service only to become eligible for PG admissions, rather than as a long-term public health commitment. It further observed that newly graduated doctors were not always equipped to independently handle emergency medical services.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

The decision applies to MBBS graduates from government, aided and municipal medical colleges, along with eligible students from private colleges who received government benefits.

Students who have not yet received bond postings, could not complete their bond, or were allotted postings but had not joined before the government order are now exempt.

However, doctors who have already joined their bond postings must complete the remaining service. Those who previously paid a penalty to avoid the bond will not receive a refund.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The government has stopped making fresh bond postings and directed authorities to close the online bond allotment portal.

While doctors’ groups have welcomed the move as a major relief that removes delays in postgraduate admissions, some public health experts argue that Maharashtra still has vacancies in government hospitals and should have improved its deployment system instead of ending the bond altogether.

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