Daybreak India needs doctors. So why are foreign-trained ones working unpaid—or not at all?
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Sep 2, 2025 India faces a deepening doctor shortage, with only one for every 1,260 people, far below the WHO recommended ratio. Thousands of students travel abroad for medical degrees, but upon return, they hit bureaucratic hurdles and grueling revalidation tests. The podcast sheds light on the high failure rates of these exams and the limited internships available. Additionally, it dives into the impact of prioritizing local graduates over foreign-trained ones and how the pandemic exacerbated these challenges. Reforms in the medical system are urgently needed to harness this untapped talent.
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Unpaid Interns From Abroad
- Kaushal and 19 peers work nights at a Gujarat urban health centre handling emergencies on few hours of sleep.
- They are unpaid because they earned primary medical degrees abroad and the system doesn't accommodate them.
Seat Shortage Drives Students Abroad
- India has far fewer medical seats than applicants, forcing many to study medicine abroad.
- Without a dramatic rise in domestic seats, outbound medical education will continue.
Demand For Doctors vs Preference For Local Training
- India needs more doctors: current ratio is roughly one per 1,300 people, far below WHO norms.
- Yet the system still privileges India-trained doctors over foreign graduates despite the shortage.