Ujjain Ayurveda interns lock hospital gates, seek Rs 21,500 stipend at par with MBBS
Representative image: Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay
Ayurveda interns in Ujjain locked their hospital's gates on October 12, 2026, demanding a stipend of Rs 21,500, up from Rs 9,383, to match MBBS interns.
What Happened
Ayurveda intern doctors and students at the Government Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, locked the institution's main gates on Monday, October 12, 2026, to press for a rise in their monthly stipend from Rs 9,383 to Rs 21,500, the amount paid to MBBS interns in the state. The lock-out halted outpatient (OPD) and inpatient (IPD) services at the hospital, causing difficulty for patients and staff. The protesters said they had been holding a sit-in for about a week and that talks with officials had not produced a result. They said they would reopen services only on receiving a written government order, not an oral assurance, and warned that students from other Ayurveda colleges would join them in Ujjain on October 15 if no order was issued. No report of a written order had appeared by the time of writing.
Key Facts
- Date: Monday, October 12, 2026; place: Government Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital, Ujjain.
- Current stipend for Ayurveda (BAMS) interns: Rs 9,383 a month; demand: Rs 21,500.
- Rs 21,500 is what MBBS interns in Madhya Pradesh are paid; one protester said that figure rose from about Rs 14,000 after an earlier strike.
- OPD and IPD services were suspended while the gates were locked.
- The interns cite clauses 15(B) and 15(D) of regulations of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), which they say require equal stipends and bar discrimination.
- The interns first warned of an agitation in September, giving the government 15 days.
Why It Matters
The dispute goes to the heart of a question the Ayush sector keeps facing: if Ayurveda is to be treated as a full partner in India's health system, should its doctors in training be paid and treated like their MBBS counterparts? The protesters say BAMS interns perform the same work and duties in the hospital as MBBS interns, and that equal work should bring equal pay. At present, an Ayurveda intern in Madhya Pradesh receives less than half the stipend of an MBBS intern.
The issue is not new. The same demand was raised in September, when interns said they would launch an agitation if it was not addressed within 15 days. That the protest has now reached the point of shutting hospital services shows how far the two sides remain apart. The interns' insistence on a written order also signals distrust of verbal promises, a common thread in stipend disputes across states.
The cost of the stand-off falls first on patients. For people who depend on a government hospital, an OPD shutdown means missed consultations and delayed treatment. For the state government, the choice is between a sizeable recurring cost, if the stipend is raised for all Ayurveda interns, and a protest that threatens to spread to other colleges.
| Group | Monthly stipend in Madhya Pradesh |
|---|---|
| MBBS interns | Rs 21,500 |
| Ayurveda (BAMS) interns, current | Rs 9,383 |
| Ayurveda interns, demanded | Rs 21,500 |
Impact
Short-term: Patients at the Ujjain hospital face suspended OPD and IPD services until the lock-out ends. The protest may widen if students from other Ayurveda colleges in the state join, as the interns have warned.
Long-term: A decision in Madhya Pradesh could set a reference point for Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy interns in other states who make similar demands. If stipends stay far below MBBS levels, it may weaken the pull of Ayush courses for students who weigh career earnings.
Who is affected: BAMS interns and students in Madhya Pradesh, patients who rely on the Ujjain government Ayurveda hospital, the college's doctors and staff, and the state's Ayush department, which must decide on the demand.
Key Takeaway
Ayurveda interns in Ujjain have shut their hospital's gates to demand a stipend equal to MBBS interns, Rs 21,500 instead of Rs 9,383, and say they will not reopen without a written order.
Questions and Answers
Why did Ayurveda interns lock the Ujjain hospital gates?
On October 12, 2026, interns at the Government Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital in Ujjain locked the gates to demand that their monthly stipend be raised from Rs 9,383 to Rs 21,500, the amount MBBS interns in Madhya Pradesh receive.
What do the protesting interns want from the government?
They want a written government order raising the stipend. They have said they will end the protest as soon as such an order is issued, and that an oral assurance is not enough.
Were hospital services affected?
Yes. Outpatient and inpatient services at the hospital were suspended while the gates were locked, causing difficulty for patients, doctors and other staff.
On what basis do the interns claim equal pay?
They say BAMS interns do the same work as MBBS interns, and they cite clauses 15(B) and 15(D) of NCISM regulations, which they say require stipend parity across systems of medicine and prohibit discrimination.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
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Reported, fact-checked and published by the Peepals Global Editorial Team.
