Andhra fixes stipend hike for junior doctors at 3.5% per annum from 2027; APJUDA rejects the order

Junior doctors hold placards at a protest in Vijayawada. File | Photo credit: GN Rao

The Andhra Pradesh Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare has set the annual stipend hike for medical students at 3.5%, the figure at the center of the junior doctors’ strike. The government order was issued late on Monday (September 21, 2026), almost a month after the doctors called off the strike.

GO Ms. No. 141, signed by Secretary to the Government G. Veerapandian, provides for a uniform annual increase of 3.5% from January 1, 2027 for all the categories it covers and will continue every year thereafter. For the current year, from January 1, 2026, the government has fixed the hike at 10% for MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) trainees and 5% for Post Graduate, Super Specialty, MDS and Diplomate of National Board (DNB) students.

APJUDA officially records our non-acceptance of unilateral revision of scholarship (https://t.co/GlkaEokrgW.141). The 10% and 5% increases were decided without mutual agreement. In addition, the complete exclusion of seniors is unfair and unacceptable.

We attended… pic.twitter.com/XS2WA0tXgQ

— AP JUDA (@APJUDAOfficial) September 21, 2026

The increase applies to rates set in 2024, when bursaries increased by 15%. The resident surgeon’s stipend is increased from ₹25,906 to ₹28,497, the first-year post-graduate stipend from ₹60,823 to ₹63,864 and that of the third-year super-specialty student from ₹85,109.35.8 The revision will cost ₹34.08 crore more annually, the order said.

The order ends, according to the government’s terms, a dispute that began when a review due Jan. 1 under a 2009 order calling for a two-year increase of about 15% failed to pass. The Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (APJUDA) sought 30%, citing two years of inflation and greater workload; the government offered 3% per annum for graduate students and 5% for interns during the strike. Monday’s order gives graduate students two percentage points more than this year’s offer, raising the annual increase from 3% to 3.5%.

Talks between the state government and APJUDA stalled several times during the August strike as the association opposed the 3% annual increase proposed by the government. The strike was called off on August 25 after the High Court ordered the state government to address the doctors’ concerns within two weeks.

An expert committee was set up to look into the issue and hold discussions with APJUDA. The commission met on August 27 and September 3. According to the GO, the commission initially recommended a stipend hike of 10% for MBBS and BDS trainees and 4% for postgraduates, super-specialist, MDS and DNB students for 2026, followed by an annual hike of 3% from January 1, 2027.

The government examined the proposal and decided to fix the hike at 10% for MBBS and BDS trainees and 5% for junior doctors, senior residents, MDS and DNB students for the current year and a uniform annual hike of 3.5% for all these groups from next year.

In a statement, APJUDA said it was disappointed and asked the government to reconsider the order. The association said it does not accept the revision and that the decision was taken unilaterally, without the association’s agreement or approval of the final percentage and terms.

Published – 22 Sep 2026 15:45 IST