Hyderabad: After nearly a month of protests, the Telangana govt on Wednesday approved a major hike in stipends for house surgeons and postgraduate (PG) students at Ayush institutions, bringing their pay on a par with their allopathic counterparts.The decision, issued through GO 356, covers 798 students pursuing Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and Naturopathy. The monthly stipend for 405 house surgeons has been increased from ₹13,754 to ₹29,792. For 393 PG scholars, the stipend will now range from ₹67,032 in the first year to ₹74,482 in the third year, up from the earlier ₹30,947–₹34,385.The hike follows a 28-day strike by the Telangana AYUSH Joint Action Committee (Ayush-JAC), which began at the Govt Ayurvedic Medical College in Erragadda and Ananthalakshmi Govt Ayurvedic Medical College in Warangal before spreading across the state.Around 1,000 medicos had stepped away from routine duties, including inpatient care, while undergraduate students also joined the protest in solidarity.Protesters had alleged that assurances on stipend parity were not implemented, pointing out that stipends for allopathic students had been revised eight times in 15 years, compared with only three revisions for Ayush students.
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