Medical interns in Jammu and Kashmir continue to be the worst paid in the country, drawing a meager stipend of just Rs 12,300 per month-unchanged since 2019-despite a formal recommendation over a year ago to more than double it.
A proposal to hike the stipend to Rs 26,350, in line with national norms and endorsed by a Government-appointed committee, has remained stuck in the Finance Department since January 2024, exposing the bureaucratic apathy towards the region’s young doctors.
With no revision since 2019, the outdated stipend fails to reflect the interns’ workload, rising cost of living, and their critical role in patient care-highlighting a deep-rooted disparity in how the region values its future medical professionals.
Interns alleged that their repeated concerns have been consistently ignored, blaming bureaucratic inertia for the prolonged delay. A file recommending the stipend hike has been pending with the Finance Department for over a year, leaving many young doctors disillusioned.
Students from various Government Medical Colleges across the Union Territory argued that the current stipend does not cover basic living expenses, let alone compensate for the long hours and physical toll of their work. “A sum so meager doesn’t pay for survival, let alone acknowledge sacrifice,” they added.
To address this disparity, the Government had constituted a committee in June 2023-vide order number 538-JK(HME)-chaired by the Director Finance of the Health and Medical Education Department. The committee submitted its report in August 2023, recommending that the stipend be revised to Rs 26,350 per month, equivalent to half the basic pay of a Medical Officer in J&K and in line with National Medical Commission (NMC) norms. However, the file has not moved forward since reaching the Finance Department in January 2024.
Adding to their frustration is the fact that other Indian States have responded more proactively. For instance, Telangana recently raised its MBBS internship stipend to Rs 29,792, with postgraduate stipends also seeing significant increases.
Interns said that in October 2024, they had a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had assured them that the issue would be resolved, but that assurance remains unfulfilled. They noted that the last stipend revision took place in January 2019, under Governor’s rule, and since then, inflation and increased responsibilities have only deepened their financial strain.
With the Finance Department falling under the Chief Minister’s portfolio, interns have now sought his direct intervention to clear the proposal. They maintain that all departmental formalities have been completed and that the only barrier is administrative inaction.
For these young doctors, the issue has grown beyond finances-symbolizing neglect, inequity, and a lack of institutional accountability toward those preparing to serve in the region’s critical healthcare system.
