State allows CCMP-qualified homeopaths to register with Medical Council

One technical member (homeopathy branch) will be nominated by the director, AYUSH, along with the registrar of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, registrar of the Maharashtra Homeopathy Council and the registrar of the MMC. The committee will have the authority to invite experts to committee meetings as required

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday issued a government resolution (GR) initiating the process of conditional registration for Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) doctors by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC). According to MMC registrar Rakesh Waghmare, the registrations are expected to begin on Tuesday.

State allows CCMP-qualified homeopaths to register with Medical Council

Over 12,500 homeopaths in the state, who have completed the one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) will qualify to practice allopathy subject to the decision of an ongoing Bombay high court hearing on this issue. The course was launched by the government with a view to providing allopathic services in rural and remote areas where doctors are hard to come by.

The GR also ordered the formation of a committee to determine the scope of treatment that can be practised by such homeopaths and the submitting of a report within a month. The commissioner, medical education and research, will be the president of the committee with the technical members nominated by the director, medical education and research.

One technical member (homeopathy branch) will be nominated by the director, AYUSH, along with the registrar of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, registrar of the Maharashtra Homeopathy Council and the registrar of the MMC. The committee will have the authority to invite experts to committee meetings as required.

This committee has been asked to submit recommendations to the government to decide which procedures the doctors will be qualified to carry out. The committee will also have to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure for handling negligence cases received against them as also to determine the medical ethical role and ethical framework related to BHMS-CCMP registration.

Meanwhile, to protest against the GR offering conditional MMC registration for homeopaths, the state wing of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has announced a 24-hour strike from 6 am on Tuesday. This is expected to affect the services of private clinics and OPDs of a few private hospitals.

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), along with other affiliated organisations, is expected to join this strike from August 5 onwards, which threatens the services of 32 government hospitals, 16 semi-government hospitals and municipal corporation-run hospitals across the state, which are attached to medical colleges. The Central MARD president Dr Atharva Shinde stated that if the MMC started the registration process, the MARD stir would indefinitely affect emergency services in these public hospitals.

In a statement, the IMA stated that this move was “perceived by the allopathic medical fraternity as compromising the standards, integrity, and scientific foundation of modern medicine, with potentially serious long-term consequences for public health and patient safety”.

Meanwhile, the administrator of the Maharashtra Council of Homeopathy Dr Bahubali Shah stated that this was a long-standing victory for the common people of the state, who would now have improved access to healthcare. “Over 2,500 homeopath doctors have already applied online for the registration in 2025 and will now look forward to receiving the registrations due to them,” he said. “Another 10,000-odd doctors, who have also completed the CCMP course, are also expected to register.”