Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Homeopath Neha Pawar becomes first CCMP doctor registered by MMC
A doctor in the Indian state of Maharashtra named Neha Pawar became the very first homeopathy doctor officially allowed to prescribe modern medicines.
To qualify, she completed a special extra course called the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology, or CCMP.
Homeopathy doctors like her had been waiting for this permission for 14 years.
On Tuesday night her registration was signed, making it the first of its kind in the whole country.
But the registration is only temporary, because a court case about the matter is still going on.
Other doctors, called allopathic doctors, were unhappy with the decision.
They went on strike and stopped seeing patients in many hospitals across Maharashtra.
The government says it will not issue any more registrations until the court makes a decision.
Both groups of doctors are planning more protests if they do not get what they want.
Dr Neha Siddharth Pawar, 36, became the first Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP)-qualified homoeopathy practitioner to receive conditional registration from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), the first such registration granted anywhere in the country.
Her certificate, Registration No. CCMP/00001/2026, was signed around 8:30 pm on Tuesday, about nine hours after a sit-in by homeopathy doctors' groups began at the MMC office at 11 am.
The registration is conditional and subject to the outcome of Writ Petition No. 7846 of 2014 pending before the Bombay High Court, and the government has frozen further registrations until the court gives clarity.
Central MARD said about 40,000 resident doctors and interns, including 4,500 in Mumbai, joined an indefinite strike across 35 government and five municipal medical colleges, affecting about 57,400 OPD consultations statewide.
MARD threatened to suspend even emergency services from Thursday unless the registration is rolled back, while the Integrated Doctors Association's Kruti Samiti planned a mass protest at Azad Maidan on August 17 if registrations are delayed.
- Who
- Dr Neha Siddharth Pawar, a 36-year-old homoeopathy practitioner, along with the Maharashtra Medical Council, homeopathy doctors' groups, and allopathic doctors' bodies such as the IMA and MARD.
- What
- Dr Pawar received the country's first conditional registration for a CCMP-qualified homoeopathy practitioner to prescribe modern medicines, triggering a standoff between homeopathy and allopathic doctors.
- When
- Tuesday night — the certificate was signed around 8:30 pm, roughly nine hours after a sit-in began at 11 am.
- Where
- At the Maharashtra Medical Council in Maharashtra, India; Dr Pawar runs her clinic in Mankhurd, Mumbai.
- Why
- Homeopathy doctors had campaigned for years — through strikes, protests and hunger strikes — for recognition and the right to prescribe modern medicines; the registration is now subject to a pending Bombay High Court case.
Homeopathy doctors
Allopathic doctors (IMA & MARD)
Registering CCMP graduates with the Maharashtra Medical Council
Homeopathy doctors
CCMP-qualified homoeopathy practitioners deserve MMC registration to prescribe modern medicines; their struggle is about recognition and self-respect, and they are confident in their training and abilities.
Allopathic doctors (IMA & MARD)
Homeopaths already have their own statutory council, and no other profession in India permits dual registration with two statutory councils, so Maharashtra should not make an exception.
Protest tactics and escalation
Homeopathy doctors
Homeopathy doctors have held strikes, protests and hunger strikes for months, occupied the MMC office, and plan a mass protest at Azad Maidan on August 17 if registration is delayed.
Allopathic doctors (IMA & MARD)
The IMA and MARD warned of a strike if registrations were granted; about 40,000 resident doctors suspended OPDs statewide and MARD threatened to halt emergency services from Thursday unless the registration is rolled back.
- First registered practitioner
- Dr Neha Siddharth Pawar (36)
- Registration number
- CCMP/00001/2026
- Regulatory body
- Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC)
- Registration status
- Conditional; subject to Writ Petition No. 7846 of 2014 before the Bombay High Court
- Resident doctors on strike
- About 40,000, including 4,500 in Mumbai
- Medical colleges affected
- 35 government and 5 municipal colleges
- OPD consultations affected
- Around 57,400 statewide
- Next planned protest
- August 17 at Azad Maidan by CCMP-qualified doctors