The Maharashtra Government has increased the monthly stipend for interning doctors from government medical colleges (GMC) in Maharashtra. The monthly stipend has been increased to Rs 18,000 from Rs. 11,000. More importantly, this increased stipend will be applicable to foreign medical graduates (FMG) too, who have completed their MBBS abroad.
This move is in line with the FMGL (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021, which state that the Foreign Medical Graduates are eligible to receive a stipend in parity with the Indian Medical Graduates.
Lauding this move, Dr Apurv Dalvi, National Convenor and Former State Convenor for Maharashtra, All India Medical Students Association - Foreign Medical Students Wing (AIMSA-FMSW), said that this has been a long-awaited move.
“In the last 20-25 years, the number of medical students going abroad for MBBS has increased and Maharashtra has one of the most number of FMGs. Thus, our team welcomes the decision. We had been constantly pursuing the state government on behalf of the foreign medical students for the same,” Dr Dalvi expressed.
The association further said that more states should come forward and implement the FMGL 2021 regulations.
“Maharashtra is the third state in India to take this step. When I did my internship in India in 2020-21 after graduating from Russia, I had to pay a fee to be eligible for the internship and did not receive any stipend. We hope that the other state governments also implement the guidelines of NMC for the stipend to FMGs,” he added.
To recall, there had been a continuous demand to increase stipends for interning medical doctors in Maharashtra, who stressed that it is one of the lowest-paying states in India for MBBS doctors.
