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

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 uniformity, transparency, and accountability to professional registration while creating structured pathways for practitioners to upgrade their skills.

“Importantly, the proposed regulations provide opportunities for provisionally registered professionals to undertake prescribed bridge courses, supervised clinical training, and minimum qualifying examinations to meet the requirements for regular registration,” the ministry said.

The ministry added that an integrated online registration system will handle credential verification and issue a Provisional Registration Unique Identification Number (PR UID) to eligible professionals to ensure systematic oversight across states and Union Territories.

About the Author

Priyanka Sharma is a journalist at Mint, where she covers the Union Ministry of Health and the pharmaceutical industry. Her work focuses on explaining government policies and how they impact healthcare and the medicine market in India. With 12 years of experience in journalism, she has built a reputation for providing clear and honest news on important health topics that affect the entire country.<br><br>Her educational background includes a journalism degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and specialized training in public health from the Public Health Foundation of India. Before her current role at Mint, Priyanka worked with India Today, The Pioneer, and ANI. She also served as a lead consultant for the National Health Authority, which gave her firsthand knowledge of how the government manages large-scale health programmes.<br><br>Priyanka is based in New Delhi and is an avid traveller who loves visiting the mountains. She has a great interest in regional flavours, particularly South Indian food.