PG medical students to get stipend during maternity leave or extended training period: NMC

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) recently clarified that the PG medical students should be paid a stipend for an extended period of training during maternity leave.

The NMC in its latest notice informed, “They (PG women students on maternity leave) should be paid stipend for extended period of training, if the same has not been granted during the maternity leave period.”

“As per Clause 13.3 of PGMEB, 2000, the matter of grant of leave to PG students shall be regulated as per respective State Government Rules,” it said.

In July 2021, the NMC’s draft regulations for the compulsory rotation internships proposed that the medical college, universities will be able to decide the stipend to be paid to MBBS interns. However, the proposal was not well received by the medical students.

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Last year, several students including MBBS interns from Bihar, Nagpur, Telangana, Osmania Medical College, staged protests demanding a hike in their monthly stipend. Bihar interns demanded officials to increase stipend from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000. The MBBS interns of Lata Mangeshkar Hospital Nagpur and NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences were also protesting against a meager salary of Rs 100 per day.

In May 2022, the NMC directed the directorates of medical education and medical colleges to not charge fees from interns. It also asked the officials to provide stipend to foreign medical graduates (FMGs) equivalent to Indian medical graduates in all states and union territories.

In other news, the NMC has exempted PG students of batch 2020-21 from one out of two requirements ie. either poster presentation or to read a paper at a national or state conference. However, the submission of a research paper is mandatory, the NMC informed.