After the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) directive last week, all government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu are submitting details of stipends paid to medical interns, post graduate (PG) residents, and PGs in super specialty courses.
The NMC, in a notice, said that the Supreme Court orders dated September 16, 2023 and April 1, 2024, had directed the commission to submit details of stipends paid to medical interns and residents. This was in connection with a case of non-payment of stipend to medical interns.
Accordingly, all health institutions and medical colleges were directed to submit details of stipend paid to their undergraduate interns, PG residents and senior residents or PGs in super speciality for 2023-2024 to NMC. The Commission also shared a prescribed format to be filled and sent by email.
It noted that for financial year 2024-2025, these details should be uploaded on the website of the medical colleges/medical institutions and should be updated on a monthly basis by the 5th of every month. At the end of each financial year, the full statement should be submitted to NMC.
“All the deans were informed by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) to strictly adhere to it (the directive) as it is in the welfare of students,” a senior official of the Health department said.
An official in the DME said the process of uploading the details is going on. Some college authorities said they received the communication from the DME. At one of the colleges, an authority said they have completed the process of uploading the required details.
In Tamil Nadu, the government revised the stipend paid to medical interns, non service PG degree/diploma and higher speciality students in government medical colleges through a Government order in July 2021. The stipend for interns was raised from Rs. 21,800 to Rs. 25,000. For PGs (degree), the stipend fixed was Rs. 48,000 (first year), Rs. 49,000 (second year) and Rs. 50,000 (third year), and Rs. 45,000 and Rs. 47,500, respectively, for first and second year PG (diploma) students. For higher speciality students, the stipend was Rs. 50,000 (first year), Rs. 52,500 (second year) and Rs. 55,000 (third year).
The government also directed that an automatic annual increase of three per cent on the previous year’s stipend should be allowed. A section of doctors, however, said that while the stipend was too low for PGs in Tamil Nadu when compared to other States, delays in payment persisted in many institutions. “Most of the colleges credit stipend after two to three months’ delay. This is something that needs to be addressed. While NMC’s directive may be to address issues in private medical colleges where no stipends are given, such issues should also be addressed,” a PG said.
