Rs 14,000 to Rs 1,20,000 Stipend: Glaring disparities in stipend paid to PG medicos In India

New Delhi: Despite numerous attempts by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Union Health Ministry to standardise medical education in the country, one of the main issues that still remain unaddressed is the glaring disparities in the amount of stipend paid to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical students across the country.

While the MBBS interns have been demanding a Uniform Stipend Policy for a long time, the disparity in the amount of stipend paid to the PG medicos working in the medical college hospitals is also a matter of concern.

As per the data regarding the students admitted through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) examination 2022, which is available on the official website of the Commission, there are glaring disparities in the stipend paid to the Junior Resident doctors across the institutes in a state and also across the country.

Even though the resident doctors across all the medical institutes are required to do an almost similar amount of work, they can be paid as much as Rs 1,20,000 per month (Delhi) as their stipend, or a meagre amount such as Rs 14,000 per month (Uttar Pradesh).

The minimum amount of stipend (Rs 20,000 or less than Rs 20,000 per month) is paid to the resident doctors pursuing their postgraduate medical education in medical colleges located in States like Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh-based Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki pays its residents the lowest amount of stipend across the country. The MD and MS students pursuing PG medical courses such as Anaesthesiology, Dermatology, General Medicine, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Radio, Tuberculosis, ENT, General Surgery, Obstetrics, and Orthopedics get a monthly stipend of Rs 14,000, revealed the NMC data.

In respect of the lowest stipend, Karnataka-based East Point College of Medical Sciences & Research Centre pays Rs 15,000 per month to its residents. Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Bhatinda comes next as it offers only Rs 15,600 as stipend to the resident doctors. In this institute, students pursuing MD and MS courses with specialisation in General Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology are paid Rs 15,600 as their monthly stipend.

The amount of stipend is also low at Lucknow-based Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, where doctors pursuing MD Respiratory Medicine and MS Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology courses are paid only Rs 18,000 per month as a stipend.

According to the data, the amount of stipend at Integral Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Lucknow ranges from Rs 15,600 to Rs 39100 per month. Rajasthan-based American International Institute of Medical Sciences gives its resident doctors a monthly stipend of Rs 20,000 only. The same amount is paid to students pursuing MD Forensic and MD Pharmacology at ACS Medical College and Hospital, Chennai.

The most amount of stipend is paid to students pursuing MD Radio at Army Hospital Research & Referral, New Delhi, which offers the MD Radio students Rs 1,20,000 per month. Several Institutes across the State pay a huge stipend i.e. approximately Rs 1,18,000 to its residents. Delhi based Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, ESI-PGIMSR, ESI-Hospital, Basaidarapur, G.B Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education, Kasturba Hospital, VP Chest Institute of Medical Sciences pay the resident doctors a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 1,17,697 to Rs 1,17,985. Similarly, the stipend amount is Rs 1,17,985 at Employees State Insurance Corporation Medical College located in Haryana and Telangana.

Stipend Disparity for Clinical Specialties: 

MD- General Medicine: 

Doctors pursuing MD General Medicine are paid most in Delhi, where they can be paid Rs 56100 to Rs 117985 monthly stipend depending on the Institute. Huge disparities are there in States like Andhra Pradesh, where some of the institutes pay their residents Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 per month, whereas institutes like Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences pay around Rs 80,904 monthly stipend to the resident doctors.

In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the amount of stipend for MD General Medicine Students can vary from Rs 14,000 per month to a huge amount of Rs 1,09,955 per month. There is a huge stipend disparity in Tamil Nadu as well as the residents can get a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 30,000/Rs 35,000 per month to Rs 102838.

The resident doctors in Rajasthan can get any amount ranging from Rs 20,000/Rs 25,000 to Rs 76176 as their monthly stipend. In Punjab, the amount varies from Rs 15,600 to Rs 67967.

MS- Obstetrics & Gynaecology: 

Students pursuing MS Obstetrics & Gynaecology face huge stipend disparity in Karnataka, where they can be paid as low as Rs 15,000 per month at institutes like East Point College of Medical Sciences & Research, or Rs 25,000 at BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore. The amount of stipend can be huge also as the students belonging to Employees State Insurance Corporation Medical College get a monthly stipend of Rs 102838. 

The amount of monthly stipend varies from Rs 50,000/Rs 51,000 per month to Rs 75144 per month in Maharashtra. In case of Manipur, the students can get Rs 50,000 at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute or Rs 97870 at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal.

In Punjab, the doctors pursuing MS- Ob-Gyn can get as low as Rs 15,600 as their monthly stipend at Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences, or they can get a monthly stipend of Rs 67968 at several other institutes. There is a huge stipend disparity in Uttar Pradesh too, where the students can get a stipend varying from Rs 21,000 per month to Rs 109955 per month.

MS- General Surgery: 

MS- General Surgery students can get a monthly stipend varying from Rs 30,000 per month to Rs 80,904 in Andhra Pradesh. In Bihar the amount can be Rs 68545 to Rs 99000 (Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences). In most of the colleges in Gujarat the students of MS General Surgery get a monthly stipend of Rs 84,000. 

The amount varies from Rs 40,000 per month to Rs 117985 (ESIC) in Haryana. Several institutes in Karnataka pays a monthly stipend varying from Rs 30,000 to Rs 45,000 to the MS General Surgery students. However, the amount can be very low such as Rs 25,000 per month at BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore. Meanwhile, ESIC Karnataka pays Rs 119000 to the residents pursuing MS General Surgery course.

Punjab-based Adesh Institute pays a meagre monthly stipend of Rs 15600. Americal International Institute of Medical Sciences pays Rs 20,000 to its stipend and the amount is Rs 25,000 at Ananta Institute. However, the MS General Surgery residents in Punjab can get a huge stipend also as several institutes in the State offer Rs 67968 to their residents.

Several institutes in Tamil Nadu pay Rs 35,000 to Rs 39,000 monthly stipend to the General Surgery Students. However, in many cases, the residents in Government Medical Colleges get Rs 48000 or more than as monthly stipend. Meanwhile, ESIC Chennai pays Rs 102838 to the General Surgery resident doctors.

Major disparity is there in Uttar Pradesh where the General Surgery students can get any amount varying from Rs 21,000 to 45,000 depending on the institute. Students of KGMU get 109955 as their monthly stipend. 

MD Paediatrics: 

Karnataka-based BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences pays the MD Paediatrics students Rs 25,000 as their monthly stipend, whereas the students pursuing the same specialisation can get Rs 45,000 at several other institutes in the State. Meanwhile, ESIC students in Karnataka get Rs 102838 as their monthly stipend.

In Maharashtra, the MD Pediatrics students of Mahatma Gandhi Missions Medical College get Rs 51,000 per month and Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College can get Rs 52769 per month as their stipend, whereas several Government Institutes pay the students more than Rs 64,000 monthly stipend. In fact, some of the Government Institutes pay a huge stipend such as Rs 75,000 to the PG medicos pursuing MD Pediatrics. 

The MD Paediatrics students in Punjab can get a monthly stipend varying from Rs 15,600 to Rs 67968 depending on the Institute.The amount can be as low as Rs 20,000/ Rs 25,000 per month in Rajasthan or as high as Rs 76,176 per month.

MS- Orthopaedics: 

The PG medicos pursuing MS Orthopaedics can get a monthly stipend varying from Rs 35,000 to Rs 65,000 per month in Tamil Nadu, depending on the Institute. 

On average, the medical colleges in Telangana pays Orthopaedics students a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 44,075 to Rs 51000. However, the ESIC Institute pays Rs 117985 to the residents and NIMS pays Rs 99969. 

In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the students can get as low as Rs 14,000 to Rs 96,000 depending on the institute. Meanwhile, the medicos at KGMU, Lucknow get Rs 109955 stipend per month.

Non-Clinical Specialities: 

The disparity in the amount of stipend is not only seen for the clinical specialities but the PG medicos specialising in non-clinical specialities also face the same issue.

MD-Pathology: 

Pathology students can get a good salary such as Rs 92902 in UP-based institutes such as BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. However, it can be very low i.e. Rs 14,000 in Mayo Institute. In the case of other institutes, the amount varies from Rs 21,000 to a huge stipend more than Rs 1 lakh in institutes like Command Hospital Lucknow and KGMU. In Maharashtra, the MD Pathology students can get a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 50,000 in institutes like ACPM Dhule to Rs 84,000 at Tata Memorial Centre

MD Microbiology: 

MD Microbiology students can get a monthly stipend ranging from around Rs 55,000 per month to Rs 76,000 per month in Punjab, depending on the institute. In States like Tamil Nadu, these students can get a monthly stipend varying from Rs 35,000 per month to Rs 102838 (ESIC Institute). Uttar Pradesh-based institutes offer a monthly stipend varying from Rs 15,600- 39100 to Rs 109955 per month to the PG medicos pursuing MD Microbiology.