Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar pay resident doctors (MBBS degree holders pursuing postgraduation) the most. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Haryana are also among the better paymasters for doctors at different levels in government-run hospitals. Interns (those in the final year of their MBBS course) in Maharashtra are among the worst paid even after a recent hike; only three other states, Rajasthan, MP and UP, pay lower. And specialists – senior residents pursuing a superspecialty course – are better off in the rural parts of Chhattisgarh, Haryana and UP where they earn Rs 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh a month, compared to Maharashtra where they get an average Rs 59,000.
At a time when resident doctors across the country are on the frontlines attending to Covid-19 patients, there is wide variation in their stipend depending on which part of India they serve. Chhattisgarh pays the maximum. UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, all pay Rs 80,000-Rs 1 lakh a month while Maharashtra and the southern states lie in the mid-range, paying a monthly stipend of Rs 40,000-Rs 60,000. The Medical Council of India plans to make stipend post-MBBS uniform across the country, but the plan is yet to be cleared by all states.
Interns poste