Telangana FMG interns have intensified their statewide protest by beginning a relay hunger strike near the Telangana Medical Council office at Koti in Hyderabad, seeking stipend parity, payment of arrears and protection from punitive action during their mandatory internships.
The Foreign Medical Graduate interns, posted at government teaching hospitals across Telangana, began the relay hunger strike on Thursday, according to Telangana Today. Friday was the second day of the hunger strike and the 30th day since the foreign medical graduates began their wider protest.
The interns are demanding a monthly stipend of Rs 29,792, which they say would bring their payments in line with the stipends received by medical students who completed their MBBS in Telangana and elsewhere in the country. They said they are currently being paid Rs 5,000 per month despite carrying out clinical duties comparable to those performed by local MBBS graduates.
Their demands also include the immediate release of stipend arrears that have accumulated since January 2026. The interns are seeking an assurance that they will not face punitive action or arbitrary extensions of their internship period while the dispute is being addressed.
The protest has brought the administrative arrangements governing foreign medical graduates into focus at a time when they are working in government teaching hospitals. The dispute is not limited to the amount paid each month; it also concerns whether interns performing similar clinical responsibilities are being treated consistently within the public medical education system.
Telangana Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha held discussions with the Directorate of Medical Education on Friday, as the protest entered its 30th day. The development came as FMG interns and members of the medical fraternity appealed to the state government to consider the demands.
The stipend difference identified by the interns is Rs 24,792 per month between the amount they currently receive and the Rs 29,792 parity figure they are seeking. The arrears demand covers payments pending from January 2026, while the request for protection from punitive action relates to the continuation and conditions of their internships.
Foreign Medical Graduates are required to complete internships as part of the process of practising medicine in India. In Telangana, the protesting interns are posted at government teaching hospitals, linking the dispute to both medical training administration and the functioning of public healthcare institutions. The account supplied by Telangana Today did not specify the number of interns involved, the total arrears claimed or the timeline for a government decision.
The immediate administrative step reported was the Health Minister’s discussion with the Directorate of Medical Education. The relay hunger strike was continuing near the Telangana Medical Council office in Koti on Friday, while the interns awaited a response to their demands for stipend parity, arrears clearance and safeguards against punitive action or arbitrary internship extensions.
