Srinagar: Concerns have resurfaced over the low stipends paid to MBBS interns in Jammu and Kashmir after a comparative chart circulating on social media showed the Union Territory among the lowest-paying regions in the country for medical interns.
According to the chart, MBBS interns in Jammu and Kashmir receive an approximate monthly stipend of Rs12,300, significantly lower than several states and central institutions across India. Assam was shown at the top with approximately Rs 31,500, while institutions like AIIMS and other central institutes reportedly provide stipends above Rs 30,000.
Reacting to the issue, Dr Muhammad Moomin Khan, Vice President of All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA), said MBBS interns in Jammu and Kashmir are performing extensive hospital duties despite receiving what he termed as “shamefully low” stipends.
“MBBS interns in J&K are running hospital services day and night. Twenty-four to thirty-six hour duties, emergency management, ward work, patient care — yet stipends remain shamefully low,” Dr Khan said.
He alleged that hospitals heavily rely on interns for routine and emergency healthcare services while the system continues to undervalue their contribution.
“Hospitals depend on interns, but the system continues to undervalue and exploit their hard work,” he added.
Medical interns in government hospitals are often involved in emergency handling, patient monitoring, ward management, assisting senior doctors, and performing continuous duty shifts that frequently extend beyond normal working hours.
The issue of internship stipends has periodically triggered concern among medical students and healthcare associations in Jammu and Kashmir, with repeated demands for parity with other states and centrally administered institutions.
Several students and young doctors on social media also questioned the disparity in stipend structures, arguing that the workload in hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir remains comparable to institutions elsewhere in the country despite substantially lower financial support.
The latest figures have renewed calls for the administration and health authorities to review the stipend structure for MBBS interns in the Union Territory. [KNT]
