NITI Aayog Licence Portability Explained: Can Doctors Soon Practise Anywhere in India With One Registration?

A doctor can hold an Indian medical qualification and still face another stack of paperwork after crossing a state border.

Fresh applications. Another registration fee. Repeated verification. In some cases, a No Objection Certificate from the council where the doctor was originally registered. NITI Aayog wants to dismantle that bureaucratic border. In a new report on India’s professional services, the government policy body has proposed interstate licence portability for healthcare professionals. The idea is simple: someone licensed and in good standing in one state should be able to practise in another without repeating the entire registration process.

The proposed system would use a national digital registry, mutual recognition among state councils and possibly an automatic approval route. It could help hospitals recruit faster, make emergency deployments easier and widen access to healthcare in underserved regions. Doctors should not start packing their bags just yet. NITI Aayog has made a policy recommendation. It has not created an immediately enforceable national licence. Here is what the proposal means, whom it could cover and what must change before one registration can work across India.

What has NITI Aayog proposed?

NITI Aayog wants healthcare professionals registered in one state to practise in another without completing duplicative licensing procedures. Its report, India’s Services Sector: Insights on Regulatory Regime in Professional Services, recommends creating a national licence registry supported by Mutual Recognition Agreements, or MRAs, among state councils. Under this model, councils would recognise one another’s registration decisions. A professional whose licence is valid and in good standing could receive approval to work in another state without securing another full registration or obtaining an NOC. NITI Aayog also suggests an automatic approval route and digital verification to make the process faster. The objective is to remove administrative barriers and allow doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to move where they are needed most. The complete recommendation appears in the NITI Aayog report.

Does this mean one licence will immediately work across India?

No. NITI Aayog is a policy body. Its recommendations can influence government action, but they do not automatically override state laws, council regulations or existing registration procedures. Implementation would require action from the Union government, national regulators and state professional councils. Some states may also need to amend their laws or regulations. Until the relevant authorities notify new rules, healthcare professionals must continue following the registration requirements of the state where they intend to practise.

Why do healthcare professionals need multiple registrations now?

Healthcare regulation in India is divided between national institutions and state councils. National bodies establish broad standards, recognise qualifications and maintain or oversee central registers. State medical, nursing and allied health councils handle much of the registration and disciplinary regulation within their territories. This fragmented structure can force professionals moving between states to resubmit qualifications, obtain verification, pay fees or secure an NOC from their original council. NITI Aayog cites Maharashtra as an example. A doctor registered in another state may have to submit a fresh application and an NOC before receiving registration to practise in Maharashtra. Requirements vary by profession and state. The result is a regulatory maze without a single national route.

Who could benefit from licence portability?

The proposal extends beyond doctors. Nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, radiology professionals, medical laboratory workers, occupational therapists, nutrition professionals, emergency-care technologists and other recognised allied healthcare workers could also benefit. These professions do not operate under one regulator. Doctors come under the National Medical Commission and state medical councils. Allied healthcare workers are being brought under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions and corresponding state councils. Nurses have their own regulatory structure. India may therefore need different legal and administrative routes to achieve portability across different healthcare professions.

How would the proposed system work?

A healthcare professional would remain registered with a recognised council and appear on a national digital registry. Participating state councils would agree to recognise one another’s licensing decisions. When a professional moved to another state, the receiving council could verify the person’s identity, qualification, registration status and disciplinary record through the national system. If the licence was active and no restrictions existed, approval could be granted automatically or through an expedited process. The professional would no longer have to rebuild the same file or wait for physical documents and NOCs to travel between councils. The licence would effectively become portable while state regulators retained responsibility for professional conduct within their jurisdictions.

Is the National Medical Commission already moving in this direction?

Yes, at least for medical practitioners. The National Medical Commission recently published a draft amendment stating that a doctor included in the National Medical Register would be eligible to practise in any state or Union Territory without obtaining fresh registration. The proposal has not necessarily completed the full rule-making process, but it indicates that the medical regulator and NITI Aayog are moving in the same direction. The NMC describes the National Medical Register as the central database of licensed medical practitioners. Its rules currently connect national registration to enrolment in a recognised State Medical Register. The proposed NMC registration amendment could remove the need for a doctor to register afresh after moving to another state.

Would portability solve India’s shortage of healthcare professionals?

It could improve distribution. It cannot create professionals who do not exist. Portability would allow hospitals and governments to recruit across state borders faster. It could make temporary postings, emergency deployments, locum assignments and telemedicine easier. A specialist registered in one state could potentially serve patients in another without waiting through a second licensing process. Nurses and technicians could move faster when a hospital expands or a disaster creates an urgent demand. NITI Aayog believes that flexibility could particularly help underserved regions. Licence reform alone, however, cannot persuade professionals to move to rural or remote areas. Those regions also need competitive salaries, housing, equipment, safe working conditions, schools and credible career opportunities. Portability removes one obstacle. It does not remove every reason a healthcare worker may resist relocation.

Could a national licence weaken patient protection?

That depends on how the system is built. State councils currently investigate complaints and impose disciplinary action within their jurisdictions. A portable system would need every regulator to share information on suspensions, malpractice findings, pending inquiries and restrictions on practice. If one council suspends a professional, every other state must see and enforce that decision immediately. A practitioner facing disciplinary action in one state cannot be allowed to escape scrutiny simply by moving elsewhere. The national registry would therefore need real-time verification and a complete disciplinary history. Regulators would also have to decide which state investigates a complaint when a professional is registered in one place, working in another and treating a patient through telemedicine in a third. NITI Aayog believes digital technology can make verification faster and more reliable. Patient safety will ultimately depend on whether every regulator updates and trusts the same system.

Would a portable licence guarantee a hospital job?

No. A professional licence establishes the legal right to practise. It does not guarantee employment, a government posting or privileges at a hospital. Hospitals could continue checking experience, specialist qualifications and professional history before recruitment. State governments could retain separate rules for public-sector appointments, including language requirements, reservation policies and contractual conditions. Portability would remove a licensing hurdle. It would not erase every employment requirement.

What has NITI Aayog recommended for medical graduates?

The report also calls for the early implementation of the National Exit Test, or NExT. NExT was designed as a common examination that would assess final-year MBBS students, determine eligibility for a licence, create merit for postgraduate admission and evaluate foreign medical graduates. Its implementation has repeatedly been delayed. NEET-PG and the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination continue to operate separately. NITI Aayog argues that a common competency assessment could create a transparent, merit-based licensing system and strengthen the credibility of Indian medical graduates domestically and internationally. NExT and portability solve different problems. NExT determines whether someone is competent to enter the profession. Portability determines where that licensed professional may work.

What changes are proposed for allied healthcare workers?

NITI Aayog wants the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, to be fully operationalised. The law is intended to standardise education, registration and professional conduct across a wide range of allied health occupations. Its implementation has been uneven. The report noted that only 26 states and Union Territories had constituted the required state councils as of 2025. Some councils reportedly departed from the structure prescribed by the Act, while other states had not notified councils. The national commission has continued developing the regulatory framework, including notifying professional councils and appointing members. The progress can be tracked through the NCAHP’s official portal. Until every state has a functioning council and compatible register, nationwide portability for allied healthcare workers will remain difficult.

What are international Mutual Recognition Agreements?

International MRAs allow two countries to recognise specified professional qualifications, registrations or competency standards. NITI Aayog wants India to pursue more such agreements so Indian healthcare professionals can work abroad more easily. It also recommends simpler licensing routes for qualified overseas practitioners seeking to work in India. Recognition would not necessarily be unconditional. Another country could still require language proficiency, an ethics assessment, supervised practice or proof that the applicant’s qualification meets local standards. Domestic portability concerns movement between Indian states. International MRAs concern movement between national regulatory systems.

What must happen before portability becomes real?

India needs more than a national website. National and state regulators must agree on common data standards, verification procedures, disciplinary rules and responsibility for complaints. State councils must recognise one another’s decisions and keep the central registry updated. The government must also decide whether portability will mean automatic nationwide recognition, voluntary agreements among states or expedited registration by the receiving state. The NMC’s proposed amendment could take doctors closer to nationwide practice rights. Nurses and allied healthcare professionals may require separate regulatory changes.

What is the biggest takeaway?

India is considering replacing a state-by-state licensing maze with a portable national framework. If implemented well, a doctor, nurse or allied health worker could move across the country without rebuilding the same file of degrees, registrations and NOCs at every state border. Hospitals could recruit faster, emergency teams could deploy sooner and underserved regions could draw from a wider workforce. The reform is still a proposal, not a passport. Its success will depend on whether India can make professional mobility easier while ensuring that qualifications, complaints and disciplinary action follow the practitioner just as quickly.

(With inputs from ANI)