The government in Uttar Pradesh has now made it mandatory for all postgraduate medical students in the state to serve for, at least, 10 years in the government sector upon completion of their studies.

Students who fail to do so will be required to pay a fine of Rs. 1 crore. According to the Additional Chief Secretary (Health), if PG medical students in the state drop out of the government job before completing 10 years, they will be fined Rs. 1 crore, he also said that such students will be debarred from the course for the next three years. The decision has apparently been taken to deal with the shortage of specialized doctors in the state-run hospitals and medical establishments.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Health) also said that over 15,000 posts have been created for doctors in the state-run hospitals across the state and as many as 11,000 MBBS doctors are currently occupying these posts. The state government has further stated that MBBS doctors employed in rural government hospitals for at least one year will get concessions in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG exam. Similarly, those with two years of experience in a rural government hospital will get a 20-point rebate in the NEET exam while those with three years of experience will get a rebate of 30 points. With this decision, it will be extremely difficult for the postgraduate medical students to opt for jobs in the private sector unless they are ready to pay the fine of Rs. 1 crore.