The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, formally enhanced the monthly stipend of MBBS and BDS interns — including Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) — from ₹12,300 to ₹25,000, nearly doubling the pay for the Union Territory's frontline trainee doctors. The revised stipend will apply retrospectively from 1 October 2026, according to an order issued by the Health and Medical Education Department.

What Triggered the Order

The decision follows days of escalating protest by medical interns who had staged a hunger strike on Monday, citing the government's failure to issue a formal order despite earlier assurances. Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo had indicated in principle agreement to the revision, but no written directive had materialised — prompting interns to resume agitation.

The situation moved swiftly after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah personally directed the Health and Medical Education Department on Tuesday to issue the enhancement order without delay. The striking interns called off their hunger strike Tuesday evening once the CM's intervention became public.

Key Details of the Enhancement

The formal order confirms that the revised stipend of ₹25,000 per month applies across all government medical and dental institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, covering MBBS interns, BDS interns, and FMGs alike. The earlier figure of ₹12,300 had remained unchanged since 2019 — a span of over seven years during which living costs in the region, according to the interns, had risen significantly.

Senior government doctors had publicly backed the demand, lending institutional credibility to what began as a ground-level protest.

Role of Medical Interns in J&K's Healthcare System

Medical interns in Jammu and Kashmir are a critical component of daily hospital operations. They staff emergency wards, outpatient departments (OPDs), operation theatres, and in-patient units across the Union Territory. Their responsibilities include conducting initial patient evaluations, monitoring vital signs, performing basic procedures such as drawing blood and inserting IV lines, and managing overnight and weekend shifts — providing continuous front-line coverage that senior doctors depend on.

A medical intern holds an MBBS or equivalent degree but must complete a mandatory one-year rotating internship — spanning specialties such as Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Emergency Medicine — before receiving full, independent registration to practise. This transitional phase is a compulsory prerequisite across most healthcare systems globally.

Broader Context and What Comes Next

The stipend stagnation since 2019 had drawn attention to a broader pattern across Indian states where trainee doctors are often underpaid relative to the critical roles they occupy. J&K's revision is among the more significant upward corrections in recent memory, representing a 103% increase. With the retrospective date of 1 October 2026, interns are also due arrears for the current month.

It remains to be seen whether the revision prompts similar demands in other states and Union Territories where intern stipends have similarly stagnated. The J&K government has not yet indicated whether a periodic review mechanism will be built into the new framework.