Pune: Despite opposition from medical experts, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country where a homeopath has been allowed to prescribe modern medicines by state medical council based on a one-year certificate course.Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) on Tuesday night started registration of BHMS-Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) practitioners, even as Indian Medical Association (IMA) joined forces with Central MARD and allied groups and announced a statewide strike starting Wednesday midnight.Till now, BHMS-CCMP doctors had been alleging neglect and discrimination over the years.The IMA held a meeting with state medical education department on Tuesday. Thereafter, it announced that they would join the Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) statewide indefinite agitation that is supported by Maharashtra State Resident Doctors Association, Association of State Medical Interns, Maharashtra Association of Gazetted Medical Officers’ Group-A and Maharashtra State Medical Teachers Association.IMA Maharashtra president Dr Santosh Kulkarni said, “On Wednesday midnight, we will withdraw all regular (elective) and non-emergency medical services. It will remain suspended till 6am on Thursday. If govt does not take any concrete and satisfactory actions by then, we hereby announce an indefinite shutdown of medical services, including emergency medical services, from 6am on Thursday.”In a joint statement, the supporting organisations have unanimously endorsed Central MARD’s stand on the BHMS-CCMP issue, emphasising that patient safety, evidence-based medical practice and integrity of modern medicine must not be compromised. They have demanded that no BHMS-CCMP registration or implementation should proceed until the final verdict of the Bombay high court and until a comprehensive, legally sound and scientifically validated regulatory framework is established.Meanwhile, administrator of the Maharashtra Council of Homeopathy Dr Bahubali Shah said, “The first registration of BHMS-CCMP practitioners in the MMC register was confirmed late on Tuesday evening. The first homeopathy practitioner received her registration certificate online. This is in line with the govt GR which was issued on Monday and mandated the MMC to begin registrations as soon as possible. We thank the govt for fulfilling their promises and the dreams of thousands of doctors.”Coordinator of Homeopathic Federation, Pune, Dr Chandan Lokhande said, ”The 2014 govt committee, comprising legal experts, medical professionals and healthcare administrators, had designed the one-year CCMP course. It was approved by both houses of the state legislature and incorporated into the legal framework.”In July 2025, over 9,000 homeopathy doctors had launched a hunger strike at Azad Maidan after govt suspended the registration process following IMA’s objections. It had ended only after the state assured a review.BHMS-CCMP practitioners have completed six and half years of medical education, comprising four and half years of the BHMS course, one year of internship and one year of the CCMP course.
