In early April this year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) had directed all medical colleges and health institutions to provide details of stipends paid to undergraduate medical interns, postgraduate (PG) resident doctors, senior resident doctors and PG students in super-speciality courses for the 2023-24 academic year. The institutions were to submit these details by the end of April.
While the revised stipend guidelines do not reflect significant changes for most categories of students, the minimum payout for Post Diploma (Broad Specialty) candidates has been increased by 5%, which is equivalent to an additional Rs 2,000 for each year of study.
How does the revised stipend for 2024 compare to last year’s rates?
The updated stipend for DNB trainees in 2024 remains in line with the amount specified in the previous notice of 2019 for both DNB Broad Specialty (Post MBBS) and DNB Super Specialty (Post MD/MS/DNB) courses. However, there is an increase in the stipend for DNB Broad Specialty (Post Diploma) trainees with revised stipends for first and second year in 2024 as compared to the 2019 notice.
Here is a detailed comparison between the stipend amounts:
The revised 2024 guidelines have not made any changes to the stipends for Post MBBS (Broad Specialty) and Super Specialty (Post MD/MS/DNB) courses, but have increased the stipends for Post Diploma (Broad Specialty) courses. Additionally, recognized hospitals and medical institutions are required to provide stipends to all NBEMS trainees.
What is meant by ‘Basic stipend as per State Government policy’?
The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has clarified how the phrase “basic stipend as per state government policy” should be understood for trainees from different categories of states. These guidelines apply to both DNB (Diploma in National Board) and FNB (Fellowship of National Board) trainees and are aimed at aligning their stipends with the stipends of MD/MS and DM/MCh trainees in state government medical colleges.
Stipend explanation for states with consolidated payments
For states where the stipend paid to MD/MS and DM/MCH trainees of state government medical colleges is given as a consolidated amount without any division into basic pay and other allowances, NBE has laid down specific guidelines:
DNB Broad Specialty Trainee: In such states, the stipend for DNB broad specialty trainees should be at par with the consolidated amount paid to MD/MS trainees of state government medical colleges.
DNB Super Speciality & FNB Trainees: Similarly, the stipend for DNB Super Speciality and FNB trainees should be at par with the consolidated amount paid to DM/MCH trainees in the respective State Government Medical Colleges.
Stipend explanation for states with structured pay scales
In contrast, some states structure the stipend for MD/MS and DM/MCH trainees as a combination of “basic pay and various allowances”, which may include dearness allowance (DA), non-practising allowance (NPA), house rent allowance (HRA), etc. These stipends are in line with the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations. For such states, the NBE guidelines are as follows:
DNB Broad Specialty Trainee: The stipend for these trainees should be based on Pay Level 10 of 7th CPC. Specifically, this means that cells 1, 2 and 3 of Pay Level 10 in the 7th CPC Pay Matrix correspond to the first, second and third year of training, respectively.
DNB Super Speciality & FNB Trainees: For these trainees, the stipend should be in line with Pay Level 11 of 7th CPC. Here, cells 1, 2 and 3 of Pay Level 11 in the 7th CPC Pay Matrix are designated for the first, second and third year of training, respectively.
Check official notification here
The notice also clarifies that NBEMS-accredited hospitals have the right to pay monthly stipends above the prescribed amount to their trainees.
Further, the 4th, 5th and 6th year trainees of the direct 6-year NBEMS course will receive stipend equal to that of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year trainees of the super specialty course respectively, provided they have passed the DNB Part-I examination.
