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Maharashtra has imposed a blanket ban on inter‑district transfers of postgraduate medical students during their mandatory District Residency Programme (DRP), tightening rules to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services in rural, tribal and other underserved areas of the state. The order, issued by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), applies to all PG students from the 2020–21 academic batch onwards and has been circulated to government, municipal, private and recognised medical colleges.
DRP made non‑transferable for all PG batches
Under the DRP, a compulsory component of postgraduate medical education aligned with National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines, students must complete a three‑month posting at designated district‑level health institutions. The aim is to give them hands‑on clinical exposure while simultaneously bolstering specialist services at the grassroots.
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In its 19 December 2025 circular, DMER has clarified that no inter‑district transfer requests will be entertained during this tenure “under any circumstances.” Officials emphasise that the NMC already does not permit such transfers under DRP norms, and the state had reiterated this position in 2021; the latest directive is meant to enforce that rule more strictly after a spike in transfer applications.
Why the government has stepped in
Senior DMER officials say frequent transfer requests were undermining the core purpose of the residency programme. When PG students moved from remote districts to larger cities mid‑tenure, facilities in already short‑staffed districts lost crucial manpower, affecting continuity of specialist care in government and municipal hospitals.
The ban is intended to bring greater discipline, uniformity and transparency to DRP implementation across all types of medical colleges—government, municipal corporation‑run, aided and unaided. Authorities noted that some students were not even reporting to the district where they had been allotted, forcing local health systems to function without the promised specialist support.
Strict warning to colleges and students
The circular instructs all deans and principals not to forward any proposals related to inter‑district transfers for PG students during DRP postings. Any violation of these instructions, the DMER has warned, will be viewed “seriously,” implying possible administrative action against institutions that attempt to bypass the rules.
DMER director Dr Ajay Chandanwale termed the situation “extremely serious,” pointing out that absenteeism and repeated transfer attempts had been noticed in several districts. By centralising and hardening the policy, the government wants to ensure that every sanctioned PG seat actually translates into on‑ground service during residency months.
Balancing education standards and public health needs
The residency requirement is seen as crucial not only for service delivery but also for training quality. Working in high‑burden district hospitals exposes young specialists to a wide range of cases—from maternal and child health emergencies to non‑communicable diseases and trauma—that they might see less frequently in tertiary urban centres.
Public‑health experts argue that a robust DRP can help partially bridge the urban‑rural gap in specialist availability, at least for some months each year. At the same time, they stress the need for adequate accommodation, security and supportive supervision for residents, so that mandatory postings do not become purely punitive in perception.
Implications for PG students and colleges
For postgraduate students, the new enforcement means they must plan for a fixed three‑month DRP stint in the district initially allotted, without banking on transfers closer to home or their parent college. Colleges, meanwhile, must ensure timely posting orders, clear communication about expectations, and coordination with district health authorities to make optimum use of residents’ skills. For in-depth report read here.
Student bodies are expected to raise concerns about safety, infrastructure and academic support in some peripheral districts. Officials say genuine logistical issues can be addressed through better planning and facility upgrades but will no longer be handled through ad‑hoc transfers, which they believe compromise the integrity of the programme.