Telangana FMGs to resume peaceful protest from November 4 over stipend disparity
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Foreign medical graduates (FMGs) from various parts of Telangana had gathered at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on October 15 to protest against the stipend disparity. | Photo Credit: Siddharth Kumar Singh
Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) undergoing internships in Telangana will resume their peaceful protest from Wednesday, saying repeated meetings with Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha and assurances from officials have failed to resolve their demands, particularly stipend parity with Indian Medical Graduates (IMGs).
The interns said they had suspended their agitation for 10 days to give the government time to act, but were left with no written commitment or concrete decision. Several meetings and follow-ups with the Minister and other officials had yielded neither a written assurance nor a Government Order (GO) or official circular addressing their concerns, they alleged.
The representatives first met the Minister at his residence in Sangareddy on October 24. He assured them that the matter would be examined and that a meeting with his team would be arranged on October 26. However, despite waiting for the promised follow-up, they received no concrete update, they said.
The representatives met officials on October 26 and 27, and then the Minister again at his Hyderabad headquarters on October 29. “He said he had discussed the matter with the Director of Medical Education and Principal Secretary, and assured us that a solution would be worked out within two days,” a representative said.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Minister sought another two to three days to discuss the issue with the Chief Minister, they said. “We had suspended our protest for 10 days, trusting the assurances given by the Minister and allowing the government time to resolve the issue. With no written commitment till date, we have decided to resume our agitation,” another representative said.
The interns have three major demands. They have sought a monthly stipend of ₹29,792 for eligible FMG interns on a par with eligible IMG interns, payment of pending stipend arrears from January 2026 at the applicable parity rate, and an assurance that they will not face victimisation, punitive action or arbitrary extensions of their internship for participating in peaceful protests.
The representatives also recalled that several protesting FMGs were detained by the police on October 22 while raising their demands. Despite the incident, they said, the interns had continued to seek a resolution through peaceful protest and dialogue.
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