The National Medical Commission (NMC) has once again threatened action against medical colleges that are not paying stipends to their interns and resident doctors. This follows similar threats issued in 2023 and 2024, with little to no evidence of concrete action being taken. The latest public notice, issued on July 11, 2025, warns of potential financial penalties, withdrawal of course recognition, and suspension of admissions for non-compliance.
The NMC's regulations stipulate that all medical colleges must pay stipends to interns and resident doctors that are equivalent to what state government medical colleges are paying. The commission has repeatedly emphasized that the payment of stipends is mandatory, citing a Supreme Court order from 2022 and its own regulations.
In a public notice dated July 11, 2025, the NMC warned that non-compliance would attract action under the Establishment of Medical Institutions, Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023, the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, and the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023.
The NMC's recent actions come after facing criticism for allegedly shirking its responsibility in addressing student grievances related to stipend payments. Just days before the July 11 notice, the NMC had issued another notice shifting the responsibility of addressing grievances of medical students to medical colleges, universities, and directorates of medical education of the respective states.
This perceived U-turn by the NMC has been met with skepticism. Dr. K V Babu, an RTI activist who has been pursuing the stipend issue for the past year, described the latest notice as "mere eyewash". He pointed out that the NMC has previously stated that the responsibility to take action lies with the state authorities.
The issue of non-payment of stipends has been a long-standing problem, with many medical colleges, both government and private, failing to pay their interns and postgraduate students. According to the NMC, 60 medical colleges, including 33 government institutes and 27 private colleges, have not paid stipends, and another 50 have paid stipends of less than Rs 5,000, with some as low as Rs 2,000.
In April 2023, the NMC conducted a survey among medical college students regarding stipend payments. An RTI query revealed that the survey showed more than 60 colleges were not paying stipends, while about 50 were paying less than Rs 5,000 a month.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has been consistently advocating for mandatory, uniform stipend structures across all medical colleges. They have also called for strict penalties for institutions that fail to pay or underpay interns and a transparent monitoring system where interns can report stipend-related grievances without fear of retaliation.
In the past, the NMC has taken some steps to address the issue. In November 2024, the commission issued show-cause notices to 198 medical colleges for failing to submit stipend payment data. The NMC also threatened to impose a penalty of Rs 50,000 on medical colleges that save crores of rupees every year by not paying stipends. Furthermore, the NMC has directed medical colleges to submit complete course-wise fee structures and details regarding stipend payments to MBBS interns, junior residents, and senior residents. The colleges have to submit the details through a Google Form link provided by the NMC.
It remains to be seen whether the NMC will take concrete action against non-compliant medical colleges this time. The commission has been urged to enforce its own regulations and take strict action against those who fail to pay stipends to their students.
