The core of the matter is the debate on ethical work-load and commensurate emoluments to interns in view of the Supreme Court guidelines.
At GMC Srinagar, GMC Jammu, SKIMS Bemina, GMC Anantnag, GMC Baramulla and GMC Handwara and other institutions, interns typically form the first line of round-the-clock care.
Protesters have cited Odisha paying its interns Rs 44,319 a month, West Bengal paying Rs 43,099 and Assam Rs 35,000.
In J&K a 2023-constituted committee had recommended raising the J&K stipend to around Rs 25,000.
Months later, in June 2026, it told the Supreme Court that non-payment persisted at only seven of 756 medical colleges nationwide.
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The sudden withdrawal has left senior faculty and resident doctors stretched thin.
The core of the matter is the debate on ethical work-load and commensurate emoluments to interns in view of the Supreme Court guidelines.
At GMC Srinagar, GMC Jammu, SKIMS Bemina, GMC Anantnag, GMC Baramulla and GMC Handwara and other institutions, interns typically form the first line of round-the-clock care.
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They form a significant proportion of the staff deputed in emergency rooms, managing wards, and staffing OPDs through the night.
The withdrawal of services has significantly impacted emergency rooms, wards and outpatient departments, according to hospital officials.
There is no single official headcount of interns currently undergoing the mandatory one-year Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) in J&K.
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It can be gauged from the 1100 MBBS seats that J&K had in the 2020-21 session.
Since the batch now serving as interns, plus BDS graduates, the total would be running into several hundred to over a thousand young doctors.
This is estimated to be the largest simultaneous intern walkouts. Interns say their stipend of roughly Rs 12,300, that has been broken down as Rs 400 a day, is inadequate to meet their basic needs and has remained unchanged for nearly seven years. Protesters have cited Odisha paying its interns Rs 44,319 a month, West Bengal paying Rs 43,099 and Assam Rs 35,000. In J&K a 2023-constituted committee had recommended raising the J&K stipend to around Rs 25,000.
This was later cited in the 2026 Assembly session as Rs 26,300.
However, apart from the recommendations and a ‘file being stuck’, no other communication regarding thei has been received from the government.
J&K Health Minister Sakina Itoo recently called the demand “justified” and urged interns against striking. She expressed concern that the withdrawal of services could negatively impact patient care.
The NMC, responding to a Union Health Ministry query on the stipend issue in February this year said its CRMI Regulations, 2021 already provide for payment of stipend to interns. The actual implementation and quantum are decided by respective states and UTs, the NMC said.
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This, it said, is based on their own financial capacity and budget provisions.
Months later, in June 2026, it told the Supreme Court that non-payment persisted at only seven of 756 medical colleges nationwide.
Hearing a batch of pleas, the apex court directed that year that Army College interns be paid Rs 25,000 a month from October 2023.
In October 2025 the SC rebuked the Commission, observing that its conduct deserved to be deprecated since the stipend issue had been pending before the court for long.
The matter remains under the court's active supervision. A nodal counsel has been appointed in June 2026 to compile a state-wise compliance chart.
Under the CRMI Regulations, 2021, interns have a defined middle ground in hospital hierarchies, working under supervision throughout the internship.
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They are not permitted to practise independently.
They may assist but cannot perform major procedures on their own.
Thus J&K's interns could assist in OPDs, ward rounds, emergency-unit postings and night shifts. However, their shifts often stretches 24-36 hours. There also is compulsory rural postings, making their work demanding and exhaustive.
While the government has reiterating that the revised stipend proposal is "under process", the log-jam raises questions about ethical workload and stipend as per the guidelines and trends across the country.
