Telangana Resident Doctors Protest Demanding Stipend Parity at Private Medical Colleges
Stipend for MBBS Interns and Resident Doctors
Hyderabad: Protesting against the 'exploitation' of interns and postgraduate students at the private medical colleges, the resident doctors in Telangana held a black badge protest today, i.e., on 24 May 2025.
In a recent Press Note, the Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (T-SRDA) strongly condemned the "ongoing exploitation of interns and postgraduates in private medical colleges, who continue to be denied fair and timely stipends".
The association pointed out that not providing fair and timely stipends to the interns and postgraduate students was a clear violation of the Government Order dated 27.05.2023 ad the NMC CRMI 2021 Regulations, which mandate equal pay for all interns and post graduates regardless of institution.
"Despite multiple appeals to state authorities and regulatory bodies, the silence has been deafening," T-SRDA mentioned in the press note.
Urging the State Government and the National Medical Commission to intervene, the Press Note by the association further added, "T-SRDA demands immediate intervention by the State Government and National Medical Commission (NMC) to ensure strict compliance and penal action against defaulting institutions."
"As a symbol of protest and unity, all Senior Residents across Telangana will wear black bands during duty on Saturday, 24th May 2025. This is not just about stipends — it is about justice, dignity, and the future of healthcare in our state," the association mentioned.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently, the House Surgeons and resident doctors at the private medical colleges in Telangana alleged that most of the institutes did not pay any stipends to them. They had also claimed that several colleges take stipend amounts from the students and show transfer of amounts to students using illicit means.
Highlighting their situation, some of the students at the private medical colleges had claimed that either they did not receive any stipend at all or they get nominal amounts, such as Rs 10,000, for the resident doctors and Rs 2,000 for the MBBS interns.
As per PGMER 2023 Regulations, the post-graduate students undergoing post-graduate Degree/Diploma/Super-speciality courses in all the institutions shall be paid a stipend at par with the stipend being paid to the post-graduate students of State Government medical institutions/Central Government medical institutions, in the State/Union Territory where the institution is located.
Regarding the issue of stipend for the MBBS interns, the NMC CRMI Regulations, 2021, states that the interns shall be paid a stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority applicable to the institution/ University or State.
While these regulations specify that the medical colleges must pay stipends to MBBS interns and resident doctors, NMC in the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, has specified what penalties may be imposed on the institute for violation of its rules. As per these regulations, NMC can take action against a medical institute for violation of any of the regulations and such penalties could include withholding and withdrawal of accreditation for five academic years and a penalty of Rs 1 crore.
The Telangana Government had also released a Government Order in 2023, as per which, the resident doctors get stipend ranging from Rs 54,000 to Rs 64,000 per month and an MBBS intern gets about Rs 25,000 per month.
