National Medical Register ID Registration Made Voluntary: Minister Anupriya Patel

Speedy summary

• Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, informed the Lok Sabha that obtaining an NMR Identification (ID) is voluntary for doctors.
• The National Medical Register (NMR) was launched in August 2024 under the NMC Act, 2019. It serves as a centralised database of medical practitioners in modern medicine.
• Only about 1% of doctors have registered with the NMR eight months after its launch. As of April 24, 2025, just 10,411 applications were submitted out of India’s total pool of 13.86 lakh registered allopathic doctors.
• Of these applications, only a small portion has been approved; over 10,237 remain unapproved or under review due to incomplete processes or raised queries.
• the system was intended to improve transparency by linking records with Aadhaar IDs and providing accessible public data while protecting sensitive details.
• Verification involves coordination between State Medical Councils (SMCs) and the National Medical Commission (NMC), with SMCs tasked to validate degrees prior to forwarding applications to the NMC for final approval.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The potential benefits of a centralised medical register like the NMR are clear-it promises transparency into doctor credentials while guarding sensitive data through verified Aadhaar integration. However, initial adoption rates highlight barriers that must be addressed for effective implementation. While making registration voluntary alleviates compliance burdens on doctors temporarily, it raises questions about achieving full-scale operational goals.

The low registration numbers indicate procedural inefficiencies at both State Medical Council and National Medical Commission levels-cases stuck in verification or requiring clarifications could signal systemic gaps in communication or technical capacity. If unaddressed soon, this could undermine public confidence in an or else promising governance tool aimed at improving healthcare access and accountability.

For broader success moving forward, streamlined processes across institutions coupled with robust outreach efforts to educate stakeholders might enhance participation without compromising on due diligence.Read more