To do research in US, Gujarat doctor vows not to practise | Ahmedabad News

AHMEDABAD: A doctor from Bharuch district, Kaksha Varma, who is a medical researcher in the US, moved the Gujarat high court after the Union government refused her a No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate, which she needs for the visitor exchange programme in the US.
Varma got her MBBS degree from MS University in Vadodara in 2018 and registered as a doctor with the medical council. She got a job with the research institute of Northwell Health. She is currently a researcher of medicine at an institute in Auburn Hills, Michigan, as a part of a research scholar programme.
As Varma had gone to the US for the visitor exchange programme on a J-1 visa, she needed to show the US authorities a NORI certificate from the Indian government.
Centre refused to issue NOC
Kaksha Varma applied for a No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate, but the ministry of health and family welfare refused to issue an NOC on September 20, 2022, stating that she does not fall in the NORI category.
As her further stay in the US and research work would not be possible without the NORI certificate, Varma moved the high court through advocate Abhiraj Trivedi, who submitted that the Centre’s decision follows its anti-brain drain policy.
The central government formulated the anti-brain drain policy for doctors because of the shortage of doctors here. However, Varma undertakes not to pursue a medical practice in the future, stating that she intends to pursue medical research only.
She is willing to surrender her licence to the medical council to ensure that she does not practise medicine in the future. As she will not practise medicine in the US, her activities in the field of medicine cannot be treated as brain drain from India.
After a preliminary hearing, Justice Vaibhavi Nanavati issued notice to the Centre and sought a reply by April 25.

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