The lure of the foreign.

 "Indian nationals in line for an employment-based green card in the United States number more than 800,000, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data. The green card backlog for employment-based immigrants in 2020 crossed 1.2 million applicants, the highest ever. Indians comprise about 68 percent of this." These are the educated. For the not so educated, they have to pay Rs 2-3 million to people smugglers who take them through "a dangerous path where they have to dodge smugglers and drug cartels, and risk poisonous snake bites while groping there way through jungles that are known to house incurable deadly diseases". Even so they will probably be safer in US detention than in India where, "In a move that has sent shock waves in the medical community, the government has brought out a notification that will allow Ayurveda doctors to be trained and legally allowed to perform a variety of general surgical, ENT, ophthalmology, ortho and dental procedures." In October, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) claimed that more than 500 doctors have died of coronavirus infection and the number must have increased since then. "Are patients in private hospitals or their families told that the doctor on duty at night in the ICU or working as emergency medical officer could be an Ayurvedic or Homeopathic doctor?" asked the Times of India angrily. "The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has initiated surprise assessment in hospitals following a TOI report about several, including those accredited by NABH, employing non-allopathic doctors for clinical duties." "Dearth of MBBS seats along with difficulty getting admissions in medical colleges is forcing aspiring Indian doctors to explore learning opportunities abroad," costing millions of rupees. "But latest data show this investment is proving to be unproductive for a majority with 84 percent failing to clear the mandatory test required to practice in India." To level the playing field, Ayurveda doctors should also be required to pass this test. If Indians need protection from foreign trained incompetents, surely we need to be protected from home grown ones. Trained doctors, even those with post-graduate degrees, are required by the Medical Council of India (MCI) to undertake 30 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) every 5 years. "The rapid developments in technology and science and the impending threat of new diseases have made it imperative to strengthen CME in India." Politicians avoid all confusion about whether a doctor is properly trained by traveling abroad for treatment. Politicians are supposed to represent the people so if they deserve the best treatment possible so do we. Especially, taxpayers who foot the bill but get nothing. We are third class in our own country. No treatment for that.