The Union government is unlikely to intervene to end the ‘alleged’ disparity in payment of stipend to medical students in government- and private medical colleges in the country.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya indicated this as a reply to a letter by Binoy Viswam, Rajya Sabha MP, on March 11. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had on January 21 sought comments from the National Medical Commission (NMC) on uniform stipend to MBBS interns in government- and private medical colleges after Mr. Viswam wrote to Mr. Mandaviya in December last year.
“The Commission has informed the Ministry that as per Section 3(a) of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations 2021, all the interns shall be paid stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority applicable to the institution/University or State.” The Minister also said that the Centre grants payment of stipend only to the interns undergoing compulsory rotational internship in hospitals/medical institutions under its administrative control which gets revised bi-annually with the approval of the Department of Expenditure. The last revision was made on July 7, 2021. The MBBS interns are now getting a monthly stipend of ₹26,300 with effect from January 1, 2020, the Minister added.
