65 medical colleges yet to submit MBBS intern stipend details to NMC: Health Ministry RTI response
New Delhi: Around 65 medical colleges across the country have not submitted details of stipends paid to MBBS interns to the National Medical Commission (NMC), according to a recent RTI reply from the Union Health Ministry.
The commission has yet to take action against these defaulting colleges.
The information came to light through an RTI response from the Health Ministry dated January 19. The ministry clarified that, as per the Supreme Court’s directions, the compilation of undergraduate internship stipend details is to be done by the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), a part of the NMC. However, about 65 colleges have still not complied and have failed to submit the required data in the last six months.
The RTI application was filed by Kerala-based activist Dr KV Babu on December 21, 2025. He asked for details about whether any reminders were sent by the Medical Education Board (MEB) to the NMC, along with information on any follow-up action taken by the NMC or the UGMEB.
In response, the Health Ministry said, "With regard to the disbursement of stipend and in reference to the communication dealt with, it is informed that in the RTI matter, the reply cannot be formulated by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW). The compilation of stipend for UG details is to be done by UGMEB, NMC, as per the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court. Approximately 65 colleges are yet to furnish their stipend details."
Commenting on the matter, Dr Babu said that although the National Medical Commission had intimated the colleges to furnish the details of such payment of stipend made to the interns and warned of regulatory action against medical colleges not complying with the communication of July 2025, it seems be dragging its feet without having any serious concern.
He further added, "Though the Hon'ble SC made serious observations about NMC & the MoH have sent repeated communications to the NMC based on my complaint against NMC, they are still dragging their feet. There is nothing to suggest about any action against erring medical colleges, though 65 medical colleges are yet to submit their reply even after 6 months. This is a grave situation. We hope and trust that the NMC would wake up from its slumber and take appropriate steps as indicated in its notice dated 11.07.2025 at least by the next date of hearing."
Earlier, on July 11, 2025, the NMC had issued a notice citing a Supreme Court order related to issues such as fee regulation and non-payment of stipends to interns. The Commission had warned that regulatory action would be taken against colleges that fail to disclose stipend details.
However, the latest RTI response suggests that many colleges have still not submitted the information, and the apex regulatory body has also failed to act on the non-compliance despite being slammed by the Supreme Court on October 28, 2025.
Medical Dialogues had reported about the matter in October, 28 2025 that the Supreme Court slammed the National Medical Commission (NMC) after noting that it failed to comply with its own directive issued in July this year requiring all medical colleges to mandatorily disclose stipend details.
The court was considering the batch of pleas that were listed before the Apex Court today, concerning the non-payment of stipend to the Indian and Foreign Medical Graduates undergoing MBBS internship
During the hearing of the case, the counsel for NMC, Mr Shashank Manish, produced the circular dated 11.07.2025 issued by the NMC to the medical colleges. In the said circular, NMC had directed all the colleges to provide the details in respect to how much stipend they were paying or not paying. However, noting that the medical colleges were not complying with the said notification, the Apex Court bench directed the National Medical Commission to comply with the said notice.
At this outset, the Court also observed that there was a directive by the Supreme Court issued in 2023 in which NMC was directed to provide the details of the colleges that were paying or not paying stipend to the MBBS interns. However, since then, 2 years have passed, and months have passed since the July 2025 notification as well.
Reacting to the information, Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson of the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network (IMA-JDN), took to social media platform X and wrote, "A government ruining the healthcare of the nation cannot be patriotic. Period."
