Overview
- Medical interns and junior doctors in Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have escalated coordinated protests this week demanding large stipend increases, commonly to ₹30,000 a month.
- Jammu & Kashmir interns paused most strike actions after Health Minister Sakina Itoo assured a stipend revision would be decided within 30 days, but SKIMS Bemina interns continued a hunger strike insisting on a written order.
- Madhya Pradesh protests in Bhopal have shut routine OPDs, produced long traffic blockades and led to police use of water cannon and alleged baton charges that injured multiple interns, prompting an official inquiry ordered by the state government.
- Around 600 interns and PG residents in Uttarakhand joined walkouts seeking major hikes, and the state is preparing a revision proposal while hospitals say emergency care will be maintained.
- The movement highlights wide pay disparities—examples include J&K stipends of about ₹12,300 and MP stipends near ₹14,337—and raises immediate risks to outpatient access for low‑income patients and the prospect of similar actions in other states if written commitments are not produced.