After 5 month delay, GMC Ambernath signs pending stipends for 100 FMG interns

Thane: After facing a delay of five months in receiving stipends, nearly 100 Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) interns at Government Medical College Ambernath, got relief as the college administration has signed four months' pending payments.

The matter recently surfaced on the social media platform ‘X’, where the Ambernath Citizens’ Forum alleged that the interns had not been paid their monthly stipend of Rs 18,000 for the past four to five months despite working full-time in the hospital.

The forum had termed the delay unfair and wrote a letter to Dr Ajay Chandanwale, Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), warning of approaching the Human Rights Commission if the matter was not resolved.

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As per the existing rules, after completing their medical courses abroad, the FMGs need to undergo an internship in India to be able to get permanent registration and a license to practice in India.

According to the Forum, the interns reportedly continued their hospital duties while managing accommodation and daily expenses from their own pockets during the delay period.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Senior Resident Doctor Association (MSRDA) of GMC Ambernath clarified that the delay occurred due to technical, attendance-related, and funding issues.

Speaking on the matter, Dr Jaiganesh R, President of MSRDA, told Medical Dialogues that the interns' representatives and the administrative office under the Dean have been holding frequent meetings over the past month to resolve the matter.

"An urgent meeting was held (Monday) regarding the same. Four months’ bills have been signed by the Dean, and by Wednesday, the interns’ stipends will be cleared," he added.

Previously, the college administration clarified that the delay is due to the non-release of funds from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Maharashtra. According to the college, the responsibility of paying stipends lies with DMER, and the required funds for this batch have not yet been received. However, on humanitarian grounds, the college claimed to have already paid two months’ stipend to the interns by arranging funds from other sources.

Commenting on the matter, Dr Santosh Verma, Dean of GMC Ambernath, previously told HT, "Our college is less than two years old and currently functioning from rented premises. This is only the second batch at the college, with around 100 foreign medical graduate interns. As we have not received funds from DMER for this batch, we were unable to pay the stipends.”

Dr Verma added that "Not only interns, but faculty members as well as Class III and Class IV staff of the college had also not been paid their salaries."

Medical Dialogues had also reported about a similar issue where the foreign medical graduates (FMGs) undergoing their mandatory internship at ESIC Medical College, Patna, have not received any stipend for the last five months. Upset over the delay in disbursement of stipend, the medical graduates from abroad protested in November, 2025.

Also read- NO stipend for 5 months: ESIC Patna FMG interns protest, shut OPD