For those training to be doctors in the armed forces, the price of desertion will now be higher. Graduates of Pune's Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) reneging from a contractual obligation to serve in the defence forces will now have to pay Rs 15 lakh to buy their freedom. There has been some alarm at the increasing rate of "desertions", which has now risen to 25 per cent. The AFMC is a highly regarded medical school, ranked next only to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Maulana Azad Medical College in the pecking order. Its charter is to produce the finest doctors for 109 military hospitals across the country, and all its students are under contract to serve the defence forces. The problem is that the premium AFMC label guarantees a cushy private practice to those who can dodge a conscription, which means a rigorous military career where battle-zones like Kargil with shells screaming all around is part of a doctor's call.