NEW DELHI: Foreign doctors, mostly of Nepal nationality, employed at All India Institute Of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) Delhi and Rishikesh are holding high hopes for the upcoming 2024 Union Budget providing adequate funds for their long-due stipends and arrears.
“As I am part of the association, I am affirmative about the budget and I believe the issue will be resolved soon. These doctors work hard equal to other doctors. So, we expect it to be resolved soon. Dr. Indra Shekhar Prasad, President RDA, AIIMS, Delhi
The above demand is gaining momentum because these doctors are not being paid not even partially since 13 years. The voices have been raised on many occasions during this period for their due stipends but their demands were never met. The range of stipend varies from Rs 90,000-Rs 1,20,000 per month.
“We hope that budget is assigned so that this glaring malpractice at AIIMS can be rectified. We hope that the proposal for a grant on a stipend to the Foreign National Medical Residents at AIIMS receives attention and that a specific budget is assigned to it”, said Dr. Himani Vyas, Junior Resident, Department of Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi.
As many as 45 foreign doctors, including 40 Junior Resident (JR) and 9 Senior Resident Doctors (SR) from AIIMS are not getting paid. This is not the first batch but payments were never made since inception.
“We are foreign national doctors and come to AIIMS through competition; we are all together 40 JRs plus 9 SRs in AIIMS Delhi and 55 JRs in AIIMS Rishikesh. We were never paid any stipend since the start. After bilateral talks from PM (Prime Minister) to PM in 2018, PGI Chandigarh and Jipmer started giving stipends to FN doctors but AIIMS has not started yet despite that Inicet is a common entrance exam for all three national govt hospitals” Dr. Laxman Bhagat, Junior Resident, AIIMS, New Delhi.
These doctors usually end up doing tedious shifts of upto 12 hours a day and also 36 hours in a stretch.
“We have 3,000 RD and 60 of them are foreign doctors, all of us work hard and go through the same rigorous process. So, if the entrance exam is the same work same hardship is same then the compensation should be there and the stipend should be provided,” Prasad said.
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Chronology of the events that happened in the efforts to get stipend:
2013
16 July: Verdict in favour of the students.
2018
11th May: During Nepal visit of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to Nepal this issue was again discussed with then Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. K.P. Oli.
PMO India directs MEA, India to look into the matter and expedite the resolution.
Indian Embassy confirms to MEA that Indian Students in similar courses are getting stipends equal to their Nepalese counterparts by their respective institutions.
27th May: Ministry of External Affairs, India writes to Ministry of Health and Family Affairs to examine and expedite with Prime Minister’s directive.
30th May: Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, India writes to AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER.
2019
16 Nov: PGIMER issues office order on providing stipend w.e.f 16 Nov 2018.
24th October: JIPMER Standing Finance Committee decides on providing stipend.
November: Discussion between Health Minister of India Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Health Minister of Nepal Mr. Upendra Yadav.
2020
5th April: Resident Doctor’s Association of AIIMS writes to Prime Minister of India to show their solidarity with the Foreign national Residents.
14th May: Resident Doctor’s Association of AIIMS writes to Director of AIIMS to bring to attention the efforts by Foreign national Residents during the pandemic requesting to look into the stipend issue in favorable light.
2023
13th January: The Students write to MOFA, Nepal to clarify that the individuals admitted to the Residency program are not government-sponsored.
16th October: Supreme Court is informed that as per its directive action will be taken to ensure that there is parity in medical education
31st December: Students write to Foreign Minister of Nepal, Nepal Embassy, and Indian Embassy to discuss the matter in the bilateral commission meeting scheduled in first week of January 2024
2024
2nd February :The application is submitted to Health Minister Shri Mansukh Mandviya.