PATNA, April 13 -- Government doctors in Bihar have decided to challenge the state government's move to impose a blanket ban on private practice by allopathic doctors in the public sector, officials of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Bihar chapter, said on Sunday. The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the IMA and the Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA), convened a day after the state health department issued a resolution expressing its intent to prohibit private practice by all government allopathic doctors. The proposed move is expected to impact over 10,000 doctors across cadres, including the Bihar Health Services, Bihar Medical Education Services and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology. While announcing the policy intent, the government stated that detailed guidelines - including the date of enforcement of ban on private practice, provisions for non-practising allowance (NPA), and additional incentives to doctors posted in rural and remote areas - would be notified separately. Following the meeting, Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh, chief patron of IMA Bihar, said the association has proposed an "optional NPA model" as an alternative to the ban. P3...