The state government on Friday set up a committee to look into concerns flagged by doctors over a notification that allows homeopathy practitioners to get registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) once they complete the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP).
After the state assured it will suspend the registration process and a government circular was issued to that effect, doctors with the Indian Medical Association withdrew their plan for a stir.
Dr Santosh Kadam, president, IMA, Maharashtra told The Indian Express that their contention was that if homoepathy practitioners are registered with the MMC after they complete the bridge course (CCMP), it would allow them to practice modern medicine.
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Several organisations had protested against the government notification dated June 30, 2025 which had allowed homoepathy practitioners who had completed the bridge course to register with the MMC from July 15. Apart from the IMA, the Maharashtra Senior Resident Doctors’ Association and other medical groups had questioned the government’s decision and supported the IMA’s move for a token strike.
The IMA had also filed a writ in the Bombay High Court in February this year regarding the potential registration of homeopathic doctors with the MMC.
Doctors had also protested the notificiation as they questioned whether a bridge course in modern pharmacology would equip homeopathy practitioners to prescribe allopathic drugs safely. Dr Kadam along with former MMC chairman Dr Shivkumar Uttare and other doctors met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis late on Thursday evening, following which a meeting was held Friday morning.
The CM had instructed Principal Secretary of Medical Education, Goverment of maharashtra, Dheeraj Kumar and MMC administrator Dr Vinky Rughwani to discuss the issue, following which a committee was set up that is chaired by the Commissioner of Medical Education and includes the registrar of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Maharashtra Homeopathy Council, Maharashtra Medical Council and others.
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Dr Rughwani told The Indian Express that the committee was instructed to submit a report within two months on the issue. “Till such time that they submit the report, the government has agreed to withdraw the notification,” Dr Rughwani added. According to the MMC circular, the registration of homeopathy practitoners holding the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology is now suspended.
When contacted, Dr R S Indulkar, advisor to Maharashtra Homeopathy Council, told The Indian Express, that there was a certain logic as to why the bridge course was introduced. “There is a need for doctors in remote corners of the state. There is a paucity as most of the modern medicine doctors prefer to work in urban setups. By undergoing this CCMP course, the homeopathy practitioner upgrades his/her skill and is able to prescribe allopathic medicines.
Moroever, even in urban areas, a majority of hospitals have employed homeopathy doctors. Then why this dichotomy?” She asked.
Dr Bahubali Shah, administrator at Maharashtra Homeopathy Council ,has decided to go ahead with his hunger strike as a mark of protest.