India's uncertified allied health workers get a chance to formalize credentials and continue practising

Summary

NCAHP's draft 2026 rules offer a 4-year transition path for lab techs, radiographers, and paramedics to secure permanent registration or risk losing their right to practice.

New Delhi: Hundreds of thousands of healthcare technicians and allied health workers across India who lack recognized qualifications will now get a chance to formalize their credentials and continue practising, according to draft regulations published by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP).

The draft regulations, published for feedback and suggestions, require about 900,000 allied health workers with unrecognized qualifications, including medical laboratory technicians, radiographers, physiotherapists and optometrists who account for 60% of India's healthcare workforce, to complete bridge courses and pass an examination to retain their right to practice.

The Provisional Registration of Allied and Healthcare Professionals Regulations, 2026, issued by the NCAHP under the health ministry, outlines a transition pathway for personnel who entered the sector before the NCAHP Act, 2021, took effect.

The law was enacted to regulate standards, standardize education and maintain central and state registers across 56 allied healthcare professions spanning 10 recognized categories such as medical lab sciences, physiotherapy, trauma care and radiology.

According to the document, practitioners holding pre-Act experience and matriculation qualifications have two years to apply for provisional registration via state councils for a ₹2,000 fee. Verified applicants will receive a provisional certificate valid for three years with a one-year extension.

To earn permanent registration, they must complete approved bridge courses of six months to one year, finish supervised clinical hours and pass a qualifying examination. The document specifies that successful completion of the bridge course serves solely for regulatory registration -- restricting their practice to India -- and will not confer any academic degree or diploma.

Clinical competence

"The implementation of bridge courses must be practical, affordable and accessible, particularly in smaller towns, while ensuring that certification translates into actual clinical competence," said Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, senior consultant and physician, preventive medicine and cardiometabolic health, at Pacific OneHealth Hospital in New Delhi. "Accurate diagnosis and quality patient care depend as much on allied healthcare professionals as on doctors."

Dr Lahariya said formal training and certification will help in improving the reliability of laboratory tests, imaging and clinical procedures, reducing errors and unnecessary repeat investigations. However, qualifications alone are insufficient -- continuous training, supervision and institutional quality assurance remain essential.

In India, most allied personnel are hired through ad-hoc private openings, staffing agencies and temporary state contracts after training at unaccredited regional institutes. Historically, the absence of a central statutory register and unified norms prevented hospitals from establishing formal service cadres and pay bands, leaving thousands in contractual roles without career progression or job security.

"For these professionals, obtaining registration secures formal statutory standing and protects against unlawful practice claims without forcing them through multi-year degree re-enrollments," an official familiar with the matter said. "For patients, the transition eliminates substandard care and diagnostic reporting errors by ensuring technicians handling critical equipment, pathology analysis, dialysis and radiation therapy meet verified, uniform national clinical standards."

Global benchmarks

The transition brings India closer to global regulatory frameworks. Around the world, allied health professions require statutory licensing tied to accredited degrees.

In the UK, the Health and Care Professions Council mandates recognized programmes and competence audits. State licensing boards in the US and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency enforce strict compliance. In these countries, practising without active registration or recognized qualifications is a criminal offence subject to prosecution.

The government is seeking public comments till 4 December to finalize the rules.

In response to Mint's query, the health ministry said, "The proposed framework aims to bring greater uniformity, transparency and accountability to professional registration while creating structured opportunities for eligible practitioners to enhance their qualifications and competencies in accordance with prescribed standards. Importantly, the proposed Regulations also provide opportunities for eligible provisionally registered professionals to undertake prescribed bridge courses for skill enhancement, supervised clinical training and minimum qualifying examinations, wherever applicable, to meet the requirements for regular registration. This competency-based approach seeks to promote continuous professional development, facilitate career progression and strengthen the quality of allied and healthcare services."

"The proposed framework places emphasis on skill development, professional competence and regulatory accountability. By linking progression to regular registration with prescribed educational and competency requirements, the Regulations seek to ensure that allied and healthcare professionals possess the necessary knowledge, skills and clinical competencies to deliver quality healthcare services. The initiative is expected to contribute to a more skilled, organised and professionally accountable workforce while reinforcing patient safety and standards of healthcare delivery," it added.

"The draft Regulations envisage an integrated online registration system to streamline application submission, credential verification, eligibility assessment and issuance of provisional registration certificates. Eligible professionals granted provisional registration would receive a Provisional Registration Unique Identification Number (PR UID), enabling systematic identification and regulatory oversight. The digital mechanism aims to simplify registration procedures, improve accessibility and promote greater transparency, efficiency and uniformity across States and Union Territories," it further said.