FMGs Stipend: SC issues notice to MP State Government

On January 23, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Madhya Pradesh Government while hearing a petition filed by foreign medical graduates (FMGs) against the non-payment of stipends. The plea, submitted by students currently undergoing internship at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College, Vidisha, was presented before the bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta.

This petition is associated with the case Abhishek Yadav & Ors. vs. Army Medical College & Ors. (W.P. (C) No. 730/2022), addressing the issue where 70 percent of medical colleges fail to pay stipends or do not meet the minimum stipend requirements for MBBS internships. In response, the Court directed the Army College of Medical Sciences to pay a stipend of Rs. 25,000 to interns undergoing their compulsory one-year internship.

The petition relies on circulars dated March 4, 2022, and May 19, 2022, issued by the NMC, stating that FMGs’ stipends should be equivalent to those of Indian Medical Graduates.

According to the plea, the Government Medical Education Department, Madhya Pradesh, issued a notice to the Commissioner of Medical Education, Bhopal, specifying that interns should receive a stipend of Rs. 12,760 starting from April 1, 2022.

Notably, the petitioners’ internship began on April 1, 2023, and for the initial two months, the batch of 69 students received only Rs. 12,760 as a stipend. However, no stipends have been disbursed since June 2023.

The petitioners express dissatisfaction, stating that despite raising grievances before various authorities, their concerns remain unaddressed.

The act of not paying stipends is argued to be unjust, arbitrary, and non-justifiable, creating an artificial divide between students from other colleges who receive stipends.