Allied Healthcare (GAHC)

In a major ruling, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to disburse stipends in two weeks to 11 foreign medical graduates doing internships at the university's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

A Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Arvind Kumar bench delivered the order after considering the interns' plea, filed by petitioner Zabihullah, that they were being discriminated against under the stipend policy. The interns argued that they were being deprived of their stipends while doing the same work as Indian medical graduates, contrary to the National Medical Commission (NMC) rules.

The court categorically held that "all medical interns of whatever nationality or country of graduation are entitled to stipends" for what work they perform under internship. The justices also ordered AMU to disburse the amount from its own funds within a brief period.

A similar relief was received from the court not to mandate the University Grants Commission (UGC) to take any penal action against AMU for disbursing the stipends without first seeking sanction. AMU, on hearing, said it was in talks with the Centre and the UGC regarding additional funding assistance to foreign medical graduates in future batches of internships.

The case draws attention to the overall issue of reasonable treatment of foreign graduates who want to pursue medical studies in India. Legal professionals believe the judgment will set a precedent for other institutions that have foreign interns.

This action comes in the wake of growing apprehension about compliance with NMC standards and parity of treatment to international nationals in Indian medical schools. Due to the intervention of the court, the centuries-old demand for stipend parity has finally got judicial approval.

With child obesity and lifestyle diseases becoming a major problem in India, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a new directive to all its affiliated schools in India to install so-called Oil Boards, which were designed to help students adopt more healthy eating habits. This new campaign will be the second after the success of the last year sugar campaign dubbed as the Sugar Boards where a national campaign was rolled out last year on reducing the consumption of sugary foods in the country by raising awareness in the school setting. What this would really mean to students, schools and parents is really explained here.

Oil Boards After Sugar Boards In Schools

The implementation of the idea of the Oil Boards is because of the shocking numbers on the health of the Indian youth. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21) shows that over a fifth of adults in urban regions of India are obese or overweight with rapidly increasing levels among children. A study in Lancet predicts that overweight and obese adults already currently stand  at 18 crore in India and may reach 45 crore by 2050. In addition, the consumption of food that is rich in unhealthy oils and fats by students with a low level of physical activity is known to be one of the factors that have contributed to this trend. Schools are the logical places where to promote awareness and transformation of lifelong eating habits.

What are the oil boards of CBSE?

The concept of Oil Boards is a visual display on a poster or digital screen in strategic locations in CBSE affiliated schools like cafeteria, hall ways, class rooms, staff rooms, and other popular places where students spend time. These boards will have:

• Facts and warnings of the health hazards of using foods containing high fats and oil.
• Student-friendly graphs indicating the level of oil in the snacks that people often eat.
• Advice on healthier diet (e.g. selecting snacks that are baked rather than fried).
• Positive messages on the diets that strike a balance between fruits, vegetables and low-oil foods

CBSE Healthy Eating Campaign instructions for schools

The campaign by CBSE is for the welfare of students. The Board has requested schools to be holistic:

• Install Oil Boards: Put visual displays with warnings and health information at points of heavy traffic.
• Health Messages in School Stationery: Print advice and reminders on eating healthy on paper stationery items, such as notebooks, letterhead, and other school material and maintain the message all through the time, during school days.
• Healthy Menus: Advertise to have healthier foods in canteens such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat foods. Restrict or eliminate the consumption of deep fried snacks and sugary drinks. 
• Promotion of Physical Activity: It is recommended that the schools should have brief physical activity breaks, encourage stair use and enable walking paths to counter the sedentary trends.
• Experiential Learning: The students will be able to participate in creating their own oil boards and posters and even create a research project connected with the topic of healthy eating.

The Road to 'Oil Boards' Success': Sugar Boards

This Oil Board project is based on the previous program of the use of Sugar Boards that informed students on the presence of hidden sugar in common snacks and beverages. Good results were seen in many schools and they included:

• More student knowledge of the sugar in food. 
• More healthy meals in canteens and fewer sugar items are available. 
• Regular workshops and classroom experiences to emphasize on the importance of mindful eating.

Given that CBSE will implement this strategy in many more areas, it will result in a much higher change in kids' awareness and choices of food, including rather poor decision making that are caused by unhealthy oils and fats.

Why does this matter? 

A long-term effect of making healthy food the convenient choice in schools is the motivation of this campaign of CBSE:

• Children shall Learn about Healthy Lifestyle: Introducing children to nutrition recommendations early in life helps them to improve their choices in the house and invigorates other family members to reconsider their lifestyle.
• Benefits Community Wide: Given that the parents and teachers are also included in the conversation, the word is spread about the wellness way beyond the school gates.
• Potential Impact: Research also demonstrates that projects of this kind, namely health education, may decrease childhood obesity rates as much as 20% in particular.

With the launch of 'Oil Boards', this is a significant initiation towards the battle against lifestyle disease in the upcoming generation of Indians. With education, environmental interventions, and the involvement of family combined, CBSE is optimistic to develop sustainable healthy breakthrough eating habits building outwards to the classroom.

Schools and school going children can do much to assure a brighter, fitter future of India as they become a central source of support in the creation of lifelong fitness and maintaining proper diets. 

The Madras High Court has held that self-financing private medical colleges are obligated to pay only the stipend to the in-service government doctors who study postgraduation and super-specialty courses in medicine in such colleges and not salary like their counterparts in the government medical educational institutions.

A division bench headed by justices R Subramanian and K Surender gave the order recently while partially granting the writ appeal moved by Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College at Maduranthakam in Chengalpet, challenging a single judge order that ruled that the self-financing colleges have to pay salary for the in-service doctors.

The government had made a policy decision not to give salary to the in-service doctors if they undertake PG and super-specialty courses in self-financing medical colleges, and a G.O. was released in 2020 in this context. There have been several litigations on this issue ever since.

Contrary to the view of the sole judge, the bench held that in-service doctors are not employees of the private medical college, while the in-service doctors who are studying PG in government medical colleges remain in the government's service.

"So, the position of an in-service doctor in a private medical institution is that of a PG student and nothing beyond that.". If that is the case, they can only be treated as equally as the other PG students of the same institution, and they would be entitled to whatever compensation that is being received by the other PG students of the same institution," the bench observed in the order. It ruled that in light of Regulation 13.3 of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Rules (PGMER), they would be eligible for the stipend.

Deciding that the responsibility is on the self-financing institution to remunerate in-service doctors who undertake their higher studies, the bench held that they would be responsible to pay only the stipend as determined by the state.

"The in-service doctors, who seek their higher studies in private medical colleges cannot claim salary from these institutions comparable to their more meritorious counterparts who seek higher studies in government medical colleges," the bench held. 

Advocate General PS Raman represented the government, while advocate Abishek Jenasenan represented the appellant-medical college.

The appeal was submitted by the appellant against the 2024 single judge order holding that salary for in-service PG, super-specialty, broad-specialty and PG diploma in self-financing colleges should be paid by such colleges.

In an ambitious move to promote higher education in Hindi, the Madhya Pradesh government became the first state to offer MBBS courses in the language. The state invested nearly ₹10 crore on printing Hindi medical textbooks, aiming to make medical education more accessible. However, so far, not a single MBBS student has opted to take their exams in Hindi. Hence this does raise serious doubts to the success of the project. Even though the government is trying to put things in place, the English language still seems to be the preferred language in medical studies, in terms of exams and other key assessments.

Was ₹10 Crores Well Spent?

People in both the academic bodies and the student community are now questioning whether the 10 crores investment on Hindi textbooks could not have been used more effectively. This big amount of money is feared to have been much more productive in upgrading infrastructure in colleges and hostels, which have a direct influence on the learning situations as well as on the welfare of students.

Transliteration or Translation?

Taking a closer look at the textbooks related to MBBS studies in the Hindi language, one will be able to notice that a lot of the scientific and medical words remain untranslated but were merely transliterated. For example, the term “liver” is printed as ‘लिवर’ instead of the proper Hindi ‘यकृत’, “limb” as ‘लिंब’ rather than its correct Hindi equivalent, and Bones is printed in hindi font as “बोन्स” instead of “हड्डियाँ”. Such superficial changes do little to help students grasp complex concepts in their native language. The photos of the hindi MBBS book surfacing the internet shows many such terms triggering mockery and harsh comments. 

Transliterations of this kind might not aid students to orient their sincere understanding with the stuff or obtain undoubted conceptual awareness within the native language. One question that also arises is whether such textbooks are indeed helping medical education become more accessible or is it like a mere replica of an English based curriculum.

Comments and Reaction of The People

When the news was shared on X, people flooded the comment section calling it a “a big joke”. Here are some viewpoints that many agreed with: 

One X user pointed out a perspective that people were sharing right after the news, “This is one of the biggest  joke I have come across! This would create great confusion. Then, you have the issue of interoperability between states. Why would someone from the Northeast, for example, would take the course in hindi? The biggest one - it's all English in Devnagiri!” 

Another X user commented, “You have to update language lexicon to include words for all sciences, philosophies, governance and logistics terminologies. And then adopt it as a trial model in a state policy. To make it available for masses everywhere. Make it available in both hindi and english in the state”

There were also comments around the 10cr budget. One user commented, “Someone must have definitely made at least one house in printing these books into hindi.. 10 cr Mein 5% to commission banta hai”.

A user with a broader perspective commented saying, “This is actually correct version. Nobody needs to learn यकृत for liver. We are already confused enough to learn if गुर्दा means kidney or heart. For God's sake, stop making mockery of things. Nobody uses pure hindi, u don't need it. Hinglish is best way forward.” 

There were extreme comments; majority were in disagreement while others with their critical viewpoint supported the initiative’s intent. 

New Measures to Promote This Initiative

With an inadequate reception, instigators are currently attempting new means to foster usage. Registrar Baghel has pointed out that the medical and dental students who opt to write their examination in Hindi will be allowed a 50% relief in examination fees. The incentive may save the students 3,000 rupees per exam attempt assuming that the average MBBS Exam fee is approximately 6,000 rupees.

It is the case that shows the issues of localising technical education in India. Although it is a good idea to promote Hindi and other regional languages, such practice should not be limited to textbook conversion. Proper translation, improved infrastructure, as well as to know the actual requirements of students is the key to success of such mass scale educational changes.

Ultimately, if the MP government wants its Hindi MBBS initiative to succeed, it must focus on practical solutions, including better translations, understanding student needs, and ensuring hindi medical education stays relevant and accessible in today’s India. 

A rising tide of panic is sweeping across Madhya Pradesh's medical fraternity in the wake of reports that the state government is contemplating closing down or drastically reorganizing the Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University (MPMSU), which is headquartered in Jabalpur.

The state is likely to roll back the degree-confering power of MPMSU into regional universities, recent media reports say. Under this, students who are pursuing their studies in colleges such as Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, would have their degrees awarded by Barkatullah University, while those from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, would come under Rani Durgavati University, among others.

MPMSU, set up to act as the state's one and only affiliating medical university, would no longer be the central body.

Medicos protest move

For this, the Junior Doctors Association of Madhya Pradesh has written to the Medical Education Minister Rajendra Shukla expressing strong objections to the plan.

In a comprehensive memorandum presented this week, the association has appealed to the government to rethink the step that might have serious ramifications for the state's healthcare and medical education infrastructure.

The JDA letter highlights the function played by MPMSU in introducing uniformity, transparency, and accountability in medical and paramedical education in Madhya Pradesh. Medical colleges were attached to different regional universities prior to the establishment of MPMSU, leading to irregular exam dates, time lags in results, and accounts of irregularities.

"With the introduction of MPMSU, there has been uniformity, transparency, and quality in medical and paramedical education in the state. Ever since its establishment, all affiliated medical colleges have been conducting examinations on time and publishing results within a specified time frame. This has resulted not just in more discipline among students but also stopped corruption and irregularities which were rampant earlier under regional universities," the letter stated.

The association also feared that the regional universities do not have the experience and insight needed to manage medical education, which is much more sophisticated and dynamic than traditional university programs.

Returning affiliations to such schools, they contend, might lead to academic inequities, slow internships and residencies, and interference with crucial training processes.

The letter further mentioned that the university has worked tirelessly in enforcing the standards and guidelines set forth by the National Medical Commission (NMC), an undertaking that would be jeopardized by the absence of a centralised medical university.

No word from the government yet

Discussing with EdexLive, Dr Kuldeep Gupta, President of the Junior Doctors Association, reaffirmed these fears and called on the government to spell out its intentions.

We learned through the media that the state government is planning to close MPMSU. This is a worrying development, as Madhya Pradesh has only a single dedicated medical science university which is monitoring all the medical colleges in the state. Closing it down would be an injustice to medical students," he told.

"We have presented a memorandum to the Department of Medical Education, and though we haven't had an official reply so far, department sources have informally mentioned that the university would not be closed down. Rather, they are going to add new professional courses," he said.

"But any such attempt to abolish MPMSU would drastically impact the quality of medical education, hamper academic consistency, and generate inconsistency in training and exam schedules across institutions," he also said.

While uncertainty prevails, students, doctors, and medical associations from all over the state are now waiting for a clear-cut statement from the government. Meanwhile, Junior Doctors Association has signaled that the matter might be escalated further if their issues are not addressed on time.

MPMSU, formed in 2011, now associates more than 300 medical, dental, nursing, paramedical, and AYUSH colleges of Madhya Pradesh. Any major restructuring would influence thousands of students and several streams of medical education.

The health ministry said sugar and trans fat are new tobacco. Nagpur as the pilot city is all set to put up “oil and sugar boards” across the city as a health warning. These health warning boards will educate the people about the high oil and sugar content of popular Indian snacks like samosas, vada pav, and jalebis, and highlight the health risks that come after consuming such snacks.The "Fit India" movement is the reason of this move and also to address rising obesity rates in the country. 

As per the statement published by TOI of president of the Cardiological Society of India, Nagpur, Amar Amale, “It’s the beginning of food labelling becoming as serious as cigarette warnings." He also said “Sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco. People deserve to know what they’re eating."  In addition, according to the letter written by health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, “India is witnessing a sharp rise in obesity among both adults and children.”

Nagpur is going to be the first city  in India to work on this model. The Union Health Ministry has directed all the government institutions in Nagpur and including AIIMS Nagpur to put up big, visible boards of oil and sugar to warn the people that fried Indian snacks they enjoy much are loaded with oil and sugar that are harming their body just like tobacco and cigarettes.  

What Is an Oil and Sugar Board?

• Educational posters or online screens at cafeterias and common spaces of state facilities.
• Prominently present quantity of oil and sugar of the commonly eaten snacks in India.
• They are intended to put people to a halt, and make them reflect on what they are eating, similarly, to the way tobacco warnings do to smokers and others. 

The reason behind the movement

The problem of obesity in India is an urban phenomenon and is getting aggravated. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5),  here is what has been found:

It is clear that in India there is an almost twofold increase in obesity over the previous 15 years.  NFHS-5 results indicate that more than one-fifth of urban Indians are obese or overweight. And what’s more concerning is that childhood obesity is on the increase due to bad eating habits and lack of physical exercises.

Prime Minister Modi inspired the Vision of the Government: FIT INDIA

This initiative fits into the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on public health. On being invited to the 38th national games held in Dehradun (Jan 2025), PM Modi proposed a lifestyle change in the country and asked the people to minimize obesity by at least 10% of their current levels and minimize oil and sugar consumption in their daily meals. During his radio talk at “Mann Ki Baat”, he said that sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco and pointed out the importance of clear labelling on food to empower the citizens.

Highlights of the Health Ministry Directive

• The use of oil and sugar boards should be exhibited on the walls of the publicly accessible eateries in all central government institutions.
• The boards will show the consumers the presence of hidden calories and dangerous ingredients in snacks. 
• The action follows anti-tobacco labelling and is aimed at ensuring that food warnings are as efficacious as cigarette warnings.

Obesity in India

The number of Indian overweight and obese people will approach 44 crores by 2050 which places India only behind the US in the world scenario. Obesity is a causative factor of most diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. The driving factors are sedentary habits, urban lifestyles and the availability of junk food.

The colorful, simple-to-read boards can be sighted at the cafeterias and all of Nagpur soon in other cities. The boards will serve as daily reminders and each person will be reminded to make healthier decisions. This initiative may in the future be spread to other high calorie foods such as burgers and pizzas.

The innovative initiative taken by Nagpur can be a pattern across the country in the near future and it would be a revolutionary change in the way India is addressing its increasing junk food and obesity issue. With these oil and sugar boards rolling out, they will certainly offer to make each bite more informed, a reminder of which all of us need; that a moment of taste should not cost a lifetime of health.