Telangana Stipend row: Medicos allege retaliatory suspensions, doctors body seeks NMC intervention

Hyderabad: The authorities at the Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences (CAIMS), a private medical college based in Karimnagar, Telangana, have not yet paid stipend, as per the Government Order, to its protesting medicos.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the intern doctors had been protesting against the non-payment of the rightful stipend for more than two months. Recently, the authorities suspended 64 MBBS interns at the medical college for a week for allegedly blocking the vehicles during a protest on the campus.

While the medical college has alleged that the action was taken based on the findings by a disciplinary committee, the students have alleged that it was a retaliatory move against the protest.

Also Read: Medical College Suspends 64 MBBS Interns who protested Against Non-Payment of Stipend

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the students have further claimed that the administration has continued to withhold stipends even after the suspension and it was now threatening them with stricter duty schedules once they returned after completing the suspension.

"If protesting is wrong, why doesn’t the college first comply with the Government Order and transfer our stipends?" an intern asked.

As per a 2023 Government Order, the MBBS interns across both private and government medical colleges in Telangana need to be paid Rs 25,906 per month. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently, the Telangana Government announced a 15 per cent stipend hike for MBBS interns and doctors pursuing post-graduate and super-speciality courses in medicine and dentistry in government institutes across Telangana.

Due to the new Government Order issued on June 28, 2025, the monthly stipend for the house surgeons (medical and dental) was increased from Rs 25,906 to Rs 29,792.

However, the MBBS interns at CAIMS have alleged that the college management has been paying only Rs 2,000 per month to its house surgeons. 

Recently, raising the issue faced by the MBBS interns at the private medical colleges across Telangana, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), wrote to the Chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

"There are a total of 23 private medical colleges in Telangana where interns are working in affiliated hospitals. Despite multiple circulars and notifications, the managements of these institutions have largely ignored the mandate of paying equal stipends to all interns, similar to those working in government colleges," FAIMA mentioned in the letter. 

The association pointed out that many of these medical colleges collect Rs 5000 annually as "stipend fee", but pay interns as little as Rs 2,000 per month, and many colleges do not pay any stipend at all.

"Interns who demand fair compensation are being threatened with suspension, denial of internship completion certificates, and other academic consequences—severely affecting their career prospects. Most concerning is the incident that occurred at CAIMS, Karimnagar, on 1st July 2025, where interns peacefully staged a protest. In response: The management called in police, who reportedly behaved rudely and aggressively towards the students. Interns were threatened, verbally abused, and forced to write apology letters and record self-declaration videos, falsely stating that the issue was internal and resolved. Subsequently, 64 interns were suspended, purely for raising their voices for a legitimate cause," the association mentioned in the letter.

Calling such "oppressive response" to a peaceful and lawful demand as "deeply unjust", FAIMA, urged NMC to immediately intervene and direct the private medical colleges in Telangana to ensure payment of stipends as per NMC norms, investigate events at CAIMS, Karimnagar, and take necessary disciplinary action against those responsible for mistreatment and unlawful suspension of interns, ensure that no intern is denied a completion certificate or subjected to academic harassment for participating in peaceful protests, and establish a monitoring mechanism to track stipend disbursement and compliance in private institutions.

Also Read: Telangana Private Medical Colleges Credit Rs 25,000 Stipend, take back Rs 20,000 in Cash, allege interns