Andhra junior doctors scale down stipend demand to 20%, reject government's 3% hike offer

The Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors' Association (APJUDA) has rejected the State government's proposed 3% annual stipend hike for junior doctors and interns, calling it 'inadequate and unjustifiable'. In a late-night statement on Wednesday, the association also scaled down its own demand from a 30% biennial revision to 20%, citing the State's financial situation.

The government's offer was outlined in a press release from the Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, in which Health Secretary G. Veerapandian said the demand could not be conceded due to fiscal constraints. He proposed a 3% annual stipend increase instead. The junior doctors countered that the amount falls short of compensating for prevailing inflation and does not address the accumulated shortfall in stipend revisions over the previous two years.

Junior doctors had been receiving a 15% stipend hike once every two years until now. They initially demanded this be doubled to 30%. In their 13-point statement, the doctors argued that a 15% increase would cost the government approximately ₹87.91 crore annually. They noted that this constitutes only about 0.5% of the total budget allocated to the health department for 2026-27 and roughly 0.03% of the State's overall Budget for the same period.

The association expressed disappointment that the government did not address its other two demands: strict adherence to National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations for recruiting MSc- and PhD-qualified candidates, and opposition to the proposed increase in the retirement age of faculty to 65 years.

Responding to the government's argument that Assistant Professors themselves earn lower salaries, the junior doctors pointed out that Assistant Professors have not received the benefit of one Pay Revision Commission (PRC), which would have otherwise raised their pay further.

The APJUDA has requested an opportunity to present its concerns before the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Finance Minister, and Health Minister. Until a resolution is reached, the doctors said they would continue their strike, withdrawing from all emergency and non-emergency services. The strike entered its tenth day on Thursday, with candlelight rallies held at government hospitals on Wednesday night and continued demonstrations on Thursday.