Maharashtra Resumes Modern Medicine Registrations for Homeopaths with MMC

The Maharashtra medical education department on Thursday withdrew its freeze on homeopathic registrations with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) in Mumbai, clearing the path for eligible practitioners to register.

The department had previously paused registrations on August 18 pending a final court order, citing concerns raised by the medical community regarding risks to public health. The registrations allow homeopaths who have completed a one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to prescribe complex modern medicines.

According to the department's latest communication, the minutes of a meeting held on July 28 served as the grounds for cancelling the earlier freeze order. However, neither doctors' associations nor the MMC had received those minutes at the time the directive was issued.

Medical education secretary Dhiraj Kumar stated that the August 18 pause was issued without proper authorization. "There was no need for fresh directives on 18th [August] as already directions were with MMC as per 28th July meeting. The above letter was issued without the approval of the secretary and it caused more confusion," Kumar said.

The repeated policy shifts have caused significant strain at the council's offices. An official at the MMC noted that the council has had to navigate mounting frustration, frequent protests, and changing directives, stating that an issue of this scale had never happened before.

Another official confirmed that the council is now liable to resume processing the applications. Registrations had initially been placed on hold on August 4 because of a technical glitch, shortly after a Mankhurd-based homeopath holding the one-year CCMP qualification became the first practitioner to be granted registration.