Andhra Pradesh opens doors to doctors nationwide, scraps state registration hurdle

3 min readJun 18, 2026 03:17 PM IST

An order to this effect was issued on June 11 by the department of health and family welfare in AP (File photo)

In a first in the country, doctors from across India will be allowed to practice in Andhra Pradesh without them registering independently with Andhra Pradesh Medical Council. Doctors from other states will also be exempted from taking a No Objection Certificate from the state or union territory they are registered with before practicing in Andhra Pradesh.

With this, Andhra Pradesh becomes the first state to remove registration barriers for doctors from across India.

An order to this effect was issued on June 11 by the department of health and family welfare in AP. The order read: “In pursuance of the policy decision of the Government under PA-19 (Priority Area -19) and in order to facilitate ease of practice for qualified medical practitioners, the Government of Andhra Pradesh hereby notifies that any person possessing a recognized medical qualification and holding a valid registration with any State Medical Council or Union Territory Medical Council in India shall be permitted to practice in the State of Andhra Pradesh”.

The current law requires doctors registered under a state medical council to deregister from their state of practice and secure a No Objection Certificate to re-register and practice in another state. This is the norm that the new order seeks to change. It states that the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council “may obtain such particulars, declarations and information through its online portal as may be required for verification and maintenance of records”.

This, however, does not mean that the state will exempt “any medical practitioner from compliance with the provisions of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, applicable regulations, professional ethics, disciplinary proceedings or any other law for the time being in force”.

The new rules, according to experts, will help open Andhra’s doors to doctors across India and make the state a destination for medical tourism.

“The process of taking No Objection Certificate from one state and reapplying for registration in the state where one would like to serve, is a cumbersome process,” Dr Babu KV, who is a registered medical practitioner in Kerala and central working committee member of Indian Medical Association.

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Dr Babu has written to the Medical Council of India to take Andhra Pradesh as an example and exempt doctors from taking medical registration in different states. He said: “As such there is no necessity of registration in more than one State Medical Council because any doctor, who has registered with any State Medical Council is automatically registered in the Indian Medical Register and also by virtue of Section 27of the IMC Act, 1956, a person, whose name is included in the IMR, can practise anywhere in India”.

The separate registration processes in each of the states makes practice difficult for doctors, Dr Babu said. He added: “I sincerely hope that the NMC will take this seriously and allow doctors to freely practice in any state of India once any state has granted a registration”.

Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice.

Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India.

Expertise & Focus Areas

Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include:

Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India.

Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism.

Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities.

National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting.

Authoritativeness & Trust

A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society.

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