Bihar govt hikes stipend for PG medicos, strikes off 2017 promise

PATNA: The Bihar health department, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, has increased the stipend of post graduate (PG) medicos in government medical and dental colleges with retrospective effect from January 1 last year.

PG medicos, also called junior doctors, would now get Rs 68,545 in the first year, Rs 75,399 in the second and Rs 82,938 in the third year of their masters’ programme.

The decision would benefit nearly 1,200 PG medicos in Bihar, who would earlier get Rs 50,000, Rs 55,000 and Rs 60,500, respectively, during their three-year curriculum.

In revising the stipend this time, the state health department has, however, removed an earlier clause committing itself to revising PG stipend every three years, mentioned in its previous resolution of May 9, 2017.

Unauthorised absence from duty would lead to a proportionate deduction in the monthly stipend, said a government resolution to this effect, issued by the additional secretary, health, Kaushal Kishore, on January 7.

The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA), Bihar, which was recently on the warpath, demanding hike in stipend, shared the resolution with media persons on Monday.

Junior doctors across government medical colleges in Bihar had struck work, between

December 23 and 31 over stipend. They had, however, continued with Covid-19 duty, while abstaining from outdoor, ward and emergency duty during the strike.

The JDA claimed that the health department, through a resolution on May 9, 2017, had assured medicos to review their stipend every three years.

The strike in medical colleges had led to enormous hardship of poor patients. The government had held firm, asking the medicos to call off their strike unconditionally and resume duty before it looked into their demands. The medicos finally saw reason into the government’s insistence in light of the coronavirus pandemic and resumed duty from 10 pm on December 31.