Telangana junior doctors support Andhra Pradesh counterparts’ strike for better stipends and academic reforms

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association (T-JUDA) has extended its support to the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association (AP JUDA), which has been on strike for more than a fortnight demanding revision of stipends and other academic and structural changes.

In a statement issued on Monday (August 24), T-JUDA said it stood in solidarity with nearly 9,000 house surgeons, postgraduate and super-speciality residents, senior residents and District Residency Programme doctors across government medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh.

T-JUDA rejected the Andhra Pradesh government’s proposed 5% hike for interns and an incremental 3% annual revision for postgraduate and super-speciality doctors, terming it inadequate and inconsistent with the existing government order. It also disputed claims that a 3% annual increase was in line with practices in other Southern States.

The association pointed to revisions in Telangana and Karnataka as examples. Telangana implemented a 15% revision through a G.O. dated June 28, 2025, taking postgraduate stipends to between ₹67,032 and ₹74,482 a month, while Karnataka had revised resident stipends by 25% with effect from August 1, 2024, taking them to anywhere between ₹56,250 and ₹68,750.

According to T-JUDA, AP postgraduate stipends currently stand at ₹60,823, ₹61,528 and ₹64,767 and have remained unrevised since January 1, 2024.

T-JUDA also endorsed AP JUDA’s demands concerning teaching faculty appointments and the retirement age of medical college faculty. It said appointments of non-medical MSc and PhD candidates to teaching positions should remain within the ceilings prescribed by the National Medical Commission, while the proposal to raise the superannuation age of medical college faculty should be reconsidered as it could reduce vacancies for newly trained specialists and senior residents.

“Precedents set in one southern State affect resident welfare across all neighbouring States,” T-JUDA said, adding that it would stand with AP JUDA until its demands were fulfilled.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.