The National Medical Commission (NMC) has given in-principle approval to integrate clinical research into the core medical curriculum, assessment systems and training pathways for medical students across the country signalling a significant shift in how future doctors will be educated.
NMC Chairperson and NBEMS President Dr Abhijat Sheth said that clinical research will no longer be treated as an optional or supplementary subject. Instead, it will become an integral part of routine clinical education, with structured instruction in research methodology introduced at multiple stages of undergraduate and postgraduate training. He added that the revised curriculum will include formal evaluations, ensuring research competence becomes a mandatory learning outcome for medical graduates.
To operationalise the reform, the NMC will constitute a specialised committee comprising representatives from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), selected Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and senior medical professionals. The committee will be responsible for developing a detailed framework and implementation roadmap for nationwide rollout. The initiative will also align with plans by ICMR, IISc and IITs to launch new PhD programmes in clinical research, aimed at boosting innovation, discovery, and indigenous evidence generation within medical institutions.
Dr Sheth said the objective of the reform is to foster a long-term research culture among doctors, strengthen the quality of medical education and enhance India’s ability to address emerging healthcare challenges such as non-communicable diseases and future pandemics. He noted that communication skills, medical ethics and clinical research are being repositioned as essential, non-negotiable components of medical training under the evolving regulatory framework.
Addressing the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, Dr Sheth emphasised that AI should support not substitute clinical decision-making by doctors. He cautioned against excessive reliance on technology at the expense of clinical judgment and ethical practice. In this context, he referred to the free online AI-in-medicine course launched by NBEMS on December 30, 2025, which aims to build foundational AI literacy among doctors while reinforcing ethical standards, patient safety and accountability in the use of technology.