Explained: Why 9,000 junior doctors in Andhra Pradesh are on strike
Junior doctors across Andhra Pradesh, under the banner of the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association (APJUDA), have been on a phased strike since August 11, 2026. They are demanding a revision of their stipends, which they say has been due since January 1, 2026. The strike initially involved the withdrawal of non-emergency services only, but after repeated failed talks with the State government, it escalated to include emergency services from August 17. This has affected intensive care units, casualty wards, and labour rooms in government medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the State.
The dispute centres on Government Order No. 287, issued by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department on December 17, 2009. This order provides for a biennial revision of junior doctors’ stipends by around 15%, linked to inflation. Revisions were carried out in 2019 and 2024. The revision due from January 1, 2026, however, did not materialise even after seven months. APJUDA sent its first formal communication to the department in July, warning of a strike from August 4. The government sought a week’s time through the Director of Medical Education to negotiate with the Finance Department and the Health Secretary, and the strike was put on hold.
When no written assurance was forthcoming, APJUDA issued a fresh notice for August 11. The government asked for another day’s postponement to hold a two-day meeting at the APIIC Building in Mangalagiri, with representatives from every government medical college invited. At the meeting, the government offered an annual increase of 3% for postgraduate junior doctors and 5% for house surgeons and interns. APJUDA had demanded 30%. This figure was independently corroborated by both a senior health official and the Indian Medical Association, Andhra Pradesh State (IMA AP State). The official told The Hindu that the department had, since receiving APJUDA’s first communication in July, been studying stipend revision models followed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. While acknowledging the demand was “justified,” the official described the 30% figure as “abnormal,” and said the government was “exploring all options.”
Doctors have cited two broad justifications for the 30% demand. First, Andhra Pradesh’s inflation rate of around 5% a year works out to roughly 10% over the two years since the last revision. According to them, the 2026 revision is meant to be a catch-up for that period rather than a purely forward-looking hike. Second, they point to a sharp rise in workload, including a three-hour increase in outpatient department timings over the past year and the added burden of digitising health records.
APJUDA has also raised two other demands. It has sought strict adherence to National Medical Commission (NMC) norms in recruiting MSc and PhD holders to clinical faculty posts, saying recent recruitment has exceeded the NMC’s prescribed cap of under 15% for such appointments. It also opposes a proposed increase in the retirement age of doctors from 62 to 65 years, which it says would shrink recruitment opportunities for younger doctors entering government service.
All 19 government medical colleges in the State are participating in the strike, APJUDA said. This includes six institutions established in the past two years, as well as older ones such as Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, Guntur Medical College, Siddhartha Medical College in Vijayawada, Kurnool Medical College, and the medical college in Kadapa. The association estimates that around 9,000 junior doctors are involved statewide.
The strike has progressed in phases. From August 11, non-emergency services were withdrawn from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with emergency and ICU services maintained. From August 12, the withdrawal of non-emergency services was extended to 9 a.m.-4 p.m., alongside a voluntary relay hunger strike. Emergency and ICU services continued to be maintained through this phase. The escalation to withdrawing emergency services came on August 17.
