Karnataka Medical Education Department hikes stipend of doctors by 25 per cent

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 23 (ANI): The Karnataka Medical Education Department on Friday passed an order increasing the stipend of senior resident doctors and PG medical students by 25 per cent.

Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil intervened in the resident doctors’ strike and, after discussions with departmental officials, instructed the issuance of the order to hike the stipend.

The revised monthly stipend for first-year PG resident doctors has been increased from Rs 45,000 to Rs 56,250, for second-year doctors from Rs 50,000 to Rs 62,500, and for third-year PG doctors from Rs 55,000 to Rs 68,750.

For first-year speciality resident doctors, the stipend has been increased from Rs 55,000 to Rs 68,750, for second-year speciality doctors from Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000, and for third-year speciality doctors from Rs 65,000 to Rs 81,250.

The revised stipend was effective on August 1.

Additionally, the current sanctioned seats include 3,540 for PG doctors, 445 for superspeciality doctors, and 527 for senior resident doctors, bringing the total number of seats for PG and senior residents to 4,312.

Earlier, on August 7, Minister Sharan Prakash Patil directed officials to fill Group A vacancies exclusively through the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) by conducting a competitive examination, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

The minister also instructed officials to take immediate steps to recruit 650 Assistant Professors under the Group-A category and induct 1,200 nurses through the KEA.

“Chairing a crucial meeting with the officials of the Department of Medical Education, Minister Patil, dissatisfied with the current recruitment process–where the heads of individual institutions conducted recruitment amid allegations of corruption and nepotism–implemented a series of measures aimed at regulating the recruitment process and filling the vacant posts in the 33 government institutions under the Department of Medical Education, including 22 medical colleges and 11 super speciality hospitals across the state,” the statement added.