The Odisha government has increased the salaries of regular and contractual professors, associate professors, and assistant professors working in newly established medical colleges in far-off regions due to an urgent need to retrain senior faculty, according to a report by The New Indian Express. The salary hike was announced on Wednesday, January 5.
The financial incentives offered by the government are based on the location of the medical colleges, which have been divided into three zones. Districts including Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, and Kandhamal fall under Zone A. Zone B includes districts such as Keonjhar, Boudh, Balasore, Gajapati, Sonepur, Deogarh, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Angul, Sundargarh, and Mayurbhanj. The remaining seven districts, Dhenkanal, Puri, Nayagarh, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, and Jagatsinghpur, are classified as Zone C. The financial incentives will not be applicable to medical colleges set up or to be set up in Khurda, Cuttack, and Ganjam districts.
According to the notification, professors in Zone A medical colleges will receive a monthly incentive of INR 1.5 lakh in addition to their regular salary, while those in Zone B and C will receive Rs 70,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively. Associate professors in Zone A will receive Rs 1.25 lakh, Rs 50,000 in Zone B, and Rs 35,000 in Zone C. Assistant professors will receive Rs 75,000 in Zone A, Rs 30,000 in Zone B, and Rs 20,000 in Zone C.
Giving more details, the notification stated that, "Faculty persons availing leave of any kind, except casual leave, are not eligible to get the incentive during the leave period and in case of long absence or unauthorised absence and during the transit period for transfer."
The government has directed deans, principals, and superintendents of medical colleges and hospitals to use methods such as CCTV and biometrics to monitor attendance and confirm that incentives are distributed only for periods of duty. Additionally, the consolidated remuneration of medical college teachers working on a contractual basis has been increased.
In addition to the financial incentives based on location, the monthly remuneration for professors has been increased from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 2.3 lakh, associate professors' remuneration has been raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, and assistant professors' remuneration has been increased from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh. These salary increases will include a 5% annual raise.
Health Secretary Shalini Pandit stated that the incentives were increased following a review of the existing policy in order to ensure sufficient faculty in the new medical colleges, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
