Bhaskar Medical College allegedly paying meagre Rs 2,000 stipend to MBBS interns- NMC action sought
Stipend for MBBS Interns
The complaint stated that the Medical College cited GO Ms. No. 489 dated 05.09.2003 as the basis for paying a meagre stipend of ₹2,000 per month to interns
Hyderabad: A complaint has been filed with the National Medical Commission's (NMC) Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) seeking disciplinary action against Bhaskar Medical College (BMC), Moinabad, for allegedly underpaying stipend to the MBBS interns.
The college has also been accused of deliberately misrepresenting the government orders. Allegedly, despite multiple reminders from the NMC to the Telangana DME since February 2025 and even after a follow-up directive was issued on March 3, 2025, no corrective steps were taken.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the allegations made by the house surgeons and resident doctors at the private medical colleges in Telangana, who alleged that most of the institutes do not pay any stipends to them. There were also allegations stating that several colleges take stipend amounts from the students and show transfer of amounts to students using illicit means. The students claimed that either they do not receive stipends at all or get nominal amounts, such as Rs 10,000 for the resident doctors and Rs 2,000 for the MBBS interns.
Raising the issue, last year, a doctor from Bhaskar Medical College submitted a complaint to all the relevant authorities, including the Telangana and National Medical Commission, the Directorate of Medical Education, the Income-Tax, Enforcement Directorate, and the Health Minister of Telangana. However, allegedly, no steps were taken.
The doctor had alleged that Bhaskar Medical College had failed to pay any stipend to the students, violating the regulations. Allegedly, the authorities took blank cheques from the students and credited the amounts to show documentation of the amount credited. However, later they debited the same amount, leaving only Rs 10,000 per month with the students.
While this complaint concerned mainly resident doctors, now a legal complaint has been filed before the NMC UG Board by Advocate Pravitha Reddy demanding disciplinary action against the college under Sections 27 and 29 of the NMC Act, 2019, Newsmeter has reported. She has also called for the enforcement of fair internship stipends as mandated by the State Government.
The issue has also been escalated to national and state political leaders, including the Union Health Minister JP Nadda and the Telangana Chief Secretary.
It was mentioned in the complaint that Bhaskar Medical College cited G.O. Ms. No. 489 dated 05.09.2003 as the basis for paying a meager stipend of ₹2,000 per month to interns. However, referring to the order dated 05.09.2023, Advocate Reddy argued that it predates the establishment of the college and is "obsolete and irrelevant".
She argued that the college was ignoring the current and binding G.O. Ms No. 59 dated 27.05.2023, which mandates a monthly stipend of Rs 25,906 for all MBBS interns across government and private colleges in Telangana affiliated to Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS).
In her letter to the NMC UG Board, Advocate Reddy mentioned, "This reference is both irrelevant and deceptive", further adding that "It fails to comply with the current valid G.O., and continues to be a tool for denying basic economic justice to interns."
As per the Daily, it came to light that the Director of the UGMEB at the NMC, Dr. Sukh Lal Meena, repeated the erroneous Government Order reference in his response to the complaint, inadvertently referring to "G.O. Ms. No. 489 dated 05.09.2023."
Reddy alleged that this date appears to be a fabricated version of the original Government Order, calling it a "clear indication of either gross negligence or intentional misrepresentation".
She further criticised both the NMC and Telangana's DME for failing to verify actual stipend payments or fee collection records, and for relying on "copy-pasted" and unverified responses from the college.
Highlighting the dire financial condition of the MBBS interns at the medical college, especially those belonging from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, Advocate Reddy wrote in the letter that "Students are unable to even afford lunch during long duty hours in hospitals." She further added that "They are paid less than daily wage labourers while being made to work under intense clinical responsibilities."
The complainant, Advocate Reddy, further alleged that Bhaskar Medical College has been collecting an additional Rs 5,000 per year from students under the pretense of paying stipends. Calling it exploitative and illegal, she called for immediate intervention and institutional action.
Writing to NMC and other authorities, Reddy demanded immediate compliance with Government Order and disbursement of full stipend at Rs 25,906/month to the students from January 2025 onwards.
Further, she also called for the submission of account-wise records of stipend payments made by Bhaskar Medical College, a clarification from the college regarding the misleading citation of a 2003 Government order, mandatory disclosure of monthly stipend data on the college's official website, disciplinary action against those responsible for misguiding authorities, and withholding of the 2025-2026 student intake until full compliance is ensured.
Warning to take up the matter to Court, Advocate Reddy said, "If no concrete action is taken within 15 days, we will be compelled to move Telangana High Court under Article 226."
Previously, highlighting the inaction of Telangana DME, despite multiple reminders from the NMC, Advocate Reddy had emphasized in her earlier communication to state officials stating that, "It is highly concerning that despite the NMC’s notice being sent to the official email ID of the Directorate of Medical Education, the authorities have neither taken necessary corrective measures nor submitted the required response."
She called on the State Health Department, including Health Minister Damodar Ciliparu, to "take immediate steps to enforce the stipend norms and protect the interests of poor medical students."
Advocate Reddy concluded that "This is no longer just about one college," adding that "It’s about systemic accountability and ensuring our future doctors are treated with the dignity and fairness they deserve."
Dr Reddy's complaint has been filed under the NMC regulations that require adherence to state-mandated stipend norms, the Apprentices Act, 1961, mandating lawful stipend payments, Supreme Court rulings (TMA Pai Foundation, Islamic Academic Cases) that prohibit the collection of unauthorized amounts from students, and Telangana High Court's order in the case of Dr. P. Narayana Reddy v. State of Telangana, which reinforces the binding nature of government stipend directives.
Copies of the complaint and all the supporting documents have been sent to multiple stakeholders, including the Telangana Chief Minister's Office, MoHFW, KNRUHS, and the Registrar of the Hon'ble Telangana High Court.
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