ANM and GNM meaning: nursing courses and registers What the Indian Nursing Council lists, the State and national registers, and the 2023 Act that replaces the council.

ANM (Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife) and GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) are two nursing programmes listed by the Indian Nursing Council: ANM is a two-year course that leads to registration as R.ANM, and GNM is a three-year course (from 2015-2016) that leads to registration as R.N & R.M, each on a State register of nurses. The council's page says both are examined by the "Nursing Examination Board". Neither name appears as a defined term in the 1947 or 2023 Acts; the Acts talk about registers and recognised qualifications, and these two courses are among them.

What is the difference between ANM and GNM?

The council's page does not state eligibility for either course, so we have left that out. What each cadre may do at work is a separate question, covered in our post on nurse or ANM in a small clinic.

Where does the rule come from?

Today, from the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 (Act No. 48 of 1947). Section 2(d) defines a State register as "a register of nurses, midwives or health visitors maintained under the law of a State", and section 15A(1) says the council "shall cause to be maintained in the prescribed manner a register of nurses, midwives, auxiliary nurse-midwives and health visitors to be known as the Indian Nurses Register, which shall contain the names of all persons who are for the time being enrolled on any State register". The council's website describes its online Nurses Registration & Tracking System as "A Live Register of Nurses".

Next, from the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023 (No. 26 of 2023, assent 12 August 2023). Section 27(1) says no person other than one enrolled in the National Register or a State Register shall "be allowed to practice nursing or midwifery as a qualified nursing or midwifery professional or nursing or midwifery associate", with a penalty under section 27(2) of up to one year in prison, a fine up to five lakh rupees, or both. Section 26(1) proviso deems anyone on the Nurses Register under the 1947 Act to be registered under the new Act, and section 26(4) says registration and licence "shall be renewed" as regulations specify. Section 56(1) repeals the 1947 Act and dissolves the council from a date the Central Government appoints.

What it means for a small clinic

Take Sunrise Clinic, a sample OPD hiring its first nurse. An applicant who writes ANM should hold R.ANM registration; one who writes GNM should hold R.N & R.M. Ask for the State Nursing Council registration certificate along with the course certificate, check that the registration is current, and keep a copy in the staff file. The qualification says what the person studied; the registration is what lets them practise as a qualified nursing professional under the 2023 Act.

Does it apply to a single-doctor clinic?

Yes, once the clinic employs anyone as a nurse or midwife. Section 27 of the 2023 Act applies to the person practising, not to the size of the employer. A single-doctor clinic with one ANM on staff needs that ANM to be enrolled in the relevant register.