The Indian government has announced “spot checks” in private hospitals, following revelations that clinical positions are increasingly and illegally filled with practitioners of alternative and traditional medicine who lack medical degrees.

The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, India’s hospital accreditation board, made the announcement after the Times of India revealed the prevalence of unlicensed doctors involved in clinical work, including night work in intensive care units at major hospitals. The Times did not indicate the number of unlicensed doctors in hospitals.

Why this matters

India has a parallel academic and clinical infrastructure for alternative and traditional medicine, including separate colleges and hospitals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made these practices a cornerstone of his Hindu nationalist administration. Shortly after his election in 2014, a new “Ministry of Ayush” — an acronym for Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and homoeopathy — was created to regulate and promote these treatments. The politician who leads it is perhaps best known for claiming that yoga can cure cancer.

While the “allopathic” or science-backed medical system is legally kept walled off from Ayush, doctors say these boundaries are eroding.