1. How to apply for the Maharashtra MBBS rural bond (Technical details)

Doctors who have graduated from government medical colleges in Maharashtra (and some other states as well) have to undergo a 1 year posting in a rural area of the state. This is done to recover the subsidized fees of our course in medical college. A doctor can be assigned as a Medical Officer in a hospital or health centre in any part of the state, as per the vacancies.

This blog is about my personal experience as a medical officer at a rural hospital in a village in Maharashtra.

My first post is about how one should apply for this rural bond because frankly, the application process is very confusing & opaque. I had to rely on my seniors and their feedback as to how to go about it.

This post will be technical and uninteresting for a non-medical person, but I hope it helps somebody who is trapped in the application maze.

So here is what needs to be done if you wish to apply for a rural posting (The information is up-to-date as of October 2014).

1. Go to Directorate of Health Services (DHS - Arogya Bhavan) office – in the St. George Hospital campus, next to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station. On the 5^th floor, ask for the staff who are in charge of the rural bond allotment. They will ask you to write an application (in Marathi), simply stating where you wish to apply for the bond. You have a choice in applying to certain “circles” / “areas” where you wish to take up a posting (this is actually the only choice you will get in the entire application procedure) – you will understand more about this when you go through the application process.

Along with this, you need to submit the following documents (attested xerox copies):

(a) MBBS Passing certificate

(b) MBBS Internship completion certificate

(c) Permanent Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) Registration Certificate OR

Temporary Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) Registration Certificate with a copy of the receipt of Permanent MMC Registration.

2. You then have to wait till the application goes through (which would take two weeks usually). The other option would be to go to the office of the Deputy Directorate of Health Services (DDHS – Upasanchalak Arogya Bhavan), where you had applied, after a week of your application.

You have to fill up a form and attach the following attested xerox copies:

(a) 1^st, 2^nd , 3^rd MBBS (Part 1 & Part 2) marksheets

(b) Attempt certificate

(c) MBBS passing Certificate

(d) Internship completion certificate

(e) MBBS Degree certificate OR if you have applied for your degree but haven’t got it yet – a copy of the MBBS degree form and its supporting documents.

(f) Permanent Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) Registration Certificate OR

Temporary Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) Registration Certificate with a copy of the receipt of Permanent MMC Registration.

(g) Age Certificate – an attested copy of the first & last pages of your passport will also do.

(h) Caste Certificate with Validity (if applicable)

(i) Previous experience certificate (if applicable)

Make sure you carry all the original documents as well (they are cross-checked at the time of application).

3. After a variable period of time, you are called on the contact numbers you have provided and informed that your posting order has been created.

You then have to go to the respective DDHS Office again. You must submit a hand-written Affidavit, in Marathi, on a 100 Rupees stamp-paper (which you must carry with you) stating that you will not make any claim over a permanent job. After this, you are given your posting order.

After receiving your posting order, you must report to the Civil hospital of the particular district to which you have been assigned. This must be done within 7 days of receiving the posting order.

4. At the Civil Hospital, you submit an application to the Civil Surgeon, stating your wish to join the health centre you have been assigned. Along with this, you attach attested copies of the same documents that you had submitted at the DDHS Office.

If you have not received the Permanent MMC Registration till now, you must give an application on a 50 or 100 Rupees stamp-paper, stating that you will submit your Permanent Registration Certificate to the civil hospital within 30 days of joining the health centre or your first salary will be delayed.

After this, you are given your final Joining Order and asked to report to the health centre you have been assigned. Although there is no specified time-frame for this, I have heard that this must be done within 7 days of receiving the report.