New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has refused to disclose action taken against private medical colleges accused of withholding or underpaying stipends to postgraduate (PG) medical students, citing an exemption under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
In a reply dated 8 October 2026 to an RTI application filed by Kerala-based doctor K. V. Babu, the medical regulator declined to share details of action taken following its own 2023 survey, which found that thousands of postgraduate students at private medical colleges were either not receiving stipends, being paid less than their counterparts in government colleges, or being forced to return the money.
The refusal comes after the commission told the Supreme Court in August 2026 that all 564 medical colleges offering postgraduate courses had reported paying stipends to their students and resident doctors. The affidavit listed the amounts reported by individual colleges but did not reveal whether payments had been independently verified or whether complaints recorded in the earlier survey had been resolved.
In its 24 August 2023 advisory, the NMC’s Post Graduate Medical Education Board said 2,110 students reported receiving no stipend, 4,288 said they were paid less than students at government medical colleges in their respective states, and 1,228 said their colleges took back the money after paying them.
The regulator had then warned private medical colleges of strict action for non-compliance. However, the latest RTI reply does not clarify whether any institution was penalised for non-payment or underpayment.
“There is not even a single instance of NMC taking any action against those medical colleges, which are defaulters in paying stipend to PG doctors/interns. Still, they have no hesitation in filing entirely different data in the Supreme Court of India. It is time to take action against NMC officials, who are not submitting the exact data in the SC,” Dr Babu said.
Last week, a senior NMC official told ThePrint that the commission would take stricter action against institutions violating stipend rules, including financial penalties and possible consequences for accreditation.
The official also said the Undergraduate Medical Education Board had recently imposed monetary penalties on eight institutions for failing to submit stipend-related information. However, Dr Babu said these penalties were for not submitting records, not for failing to pay stipends.
Stipend rules and enforcement
Under Section 5.4 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, postgraduate students pursuing degree, diploma and super-speciality courses at private colleges must receive stipends at par with students at state or central government medical institutions in the same state or Union Territory.
The issue also extends to undergraduate interns. The NMC’s Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) Regulations, 2021, require interns to be paid the stipend fixed by the appropriate authority applicable to their institution, university or state. Unlike the postgraduate regulations, they do not explicitly require parity with interns at government medical colleges in the same state.
Dr Babu said he had raised this discrepancy with the Union Health Ministry in June 2022. Following this, the ministry’s Medical Education Policy section asked the NMC in November 2025 to examine the issue and sent a reminder on 15 December 2025.
Later, in a response dated 18 February 2026, the NMC’s Undergraduate Medical Education Board said any amendment to the CRMI regulations would require consideration through the statutory process and consultation with authorities concerned.
In an RTI reply dated 17 July 2026, the commission then said the February letter had been sent in response to inputs sought by the ministry and that stakeholders would be consulted when the regulations were revised or amended.
Responding to ThePrint’s queries on whether a decision had been taken to initiate amendments to CRMI regulations, a senior NMC official said, “The fixation of stipend rates involves the respective state governments and competent authorities, and requires wider stakeholder consultation. The regulatory intent & stated position of the commission is very clear on this. No definitive timeline can be indicated at this stage, as the action lies at the level of respective states. The issue is a continuous discussion point with the states.”
Regarding actions taken against defaulter colleges, the official said, “NMC has consistently maintained that payment of the prescribed stipend to postgraduate medical students is mandatory and that the regulatory non-compliance is viewed seriously. Complaints regarding non-payment or irregular payment are examined, and appropriate action is initiated against defaulting institutions in accordance with the applicable regulations.”
On the denial of information in response to the RTI, the official said, “The response to a particular RTI application needs to be checked with the concerned CPIO (Central Public Information Officer) and the same has to conform to the provisions of the RTI Act.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)