A debate over whether Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs) and Paramedical Practitioners (PMPs) should be given basic training and certification to strengthen rural healthcare, played out in the Telangana Legislative Council during Question Hour on Saturday (January 3, 2026) with the Health Minister, C Damodar Raja Narasimha, reiterating that existing Court orders prevent any such programme from moving forward.
After getting to know of the debate, members of the medical fraternity said they opposed the idea, arguing that Telangana already produces enough qualified doctors and that certifying these unqualified medical practitioners would only institutionalise quackery.
Raising the issue in the Council, Takkallapalli Ravinder Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) said that inadequate access to affordable and reliable healthcare in rural and semi-urban areas was forcing poor and vulnerable patients to depend on costly private hospitals. “Government facilities continued to face shortages of doctors, medicines and basic infrastructure, eroding public trust in primary health centres and sub-centres,” he said.
Mr. Ravinder Rao recalled that during the united Andhra Pradesh period, several government orders were issued for structured training for RMPs and PMPs so that they could function as first-contact healthcare providers at the grassroots level. Responding in the House, the Health Minister said the government was bound by legal constraints. Tracing the history of the issue, he said the government orders were issued in 2008, 2009 and again in 2014 to train RMPs and PMPs, but these initiatives ran into legal challenges after petitions were filed by the Indian Medical Association, Telangana State branch and the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA).
“The Telangana High Court has restrained the State from conducting training or issuing certification to RMPs and PMPs to practise allopathic medicine, and the government was duty-bound to comply with judicial directions,” the Minister added. At the same time, the Minister said the issue would be examined from a legal standpoint to determine what was permissible within the existing framework.
Speaking to The Hindu, senior doctors said certifying RMPs and PMPs was neither necessary nor safe. G. Srinivas, Vice-Chairman of the Telangana Medical Council (TGMC), said that the situation from 2008 to now had changed significantly, with Telangana now having around 65 medical colleges across the government and private sectors. “There is no need to legitimise unqualified practitioners. The focus should be on strengthening the public healthcare system by filling vacancies and improving infrastructure at primary health centres, sub-centres and government hospitals,” he said.
Dr. Kiran Madala, member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Telangana State branch’s Committee on Action and Anti-Quackery, said that even limited certification for RMPs and PMPs could lead to serious patient safety risks. The State has a large pool of qualified doctors waiting for employment. The solution is in recruiting them into the public system on a regular or contractual basis. Allowing unqualified practitioners to practise, even at a basic level, often goes beyond first aid in reality,” he said, warning that many already administered antibiotics, steroids and carried out procedures without oversight.
Published – January 03, 2026 06:01 pm IST
