In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the West Bengal government on Monday, June 8, announced a hike in the salary and stipend of junior doctors, house staff and interns of state-run hospitals to boost their morale during these trying times.

Minister of State for Health, Chandrima Bhattacharya said the government decided to hike the salaries as a ‘token of recognition and appreciation of the selfless work done by the doctors’, even though the state government is going through a severe financial crisis.

While the interns’ monthly stipend has been hiked by ₹4,425, monthly income of house staff has been hiked by ₹5,367. The interns will now get a monthly stipend of ₹28,050 and a house staff will get a remuneration of ₹43,758 a month, Bhattacharya said.

Similarly, post-graduate trainees in the first, second, and third years will now get monthly remunerations of ₹43,758, ₹47,124, and ₹50,490 respectively.

Meanwhile, the increased stipend of first-year post-doctoral trainees will be ₹53,856 a month, and that of the second-year and third-year trainees will be ₹57,222 and ₹60,588 respectively, the Minister said.

Last month, the Karnataka government had increased the monthly stipend of resident doctors, post-graduate students, and house surgeons, following protests by the doctors. The stipend for interns was hiked to ₹30,000 from ₹20,000. For PG students of 1-3 years, the stipend was hiked from ₹30,000, ₹35,000, and ₹40,000 to ₹40,000, ₹45,000 and ₹50,000 respectively.

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