Odisha govt hikes stipend of pre and para-clinical students of medical colleges

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday announced a hike in the stipend of pre and para-clinical students of the state-run medical colleges.

The government has increased the total stipend to Rs 48,302 from Rs 39,950 for first-year students. It has also increased stipend to Rs 50,658 for 2nd year and Rs 53,014 for 3rd-year students.

The government also decided to provide an additional monthly stipend to Rs 18,000 for post-graduate students undertaking pre and para-clinical courses at state-run medical colleges.

Health Minister Pratap Jena said both in-service and post-graduate doctors will be entitled to the monthly stipend which has been introduced for the first time by Odisha government.

The Minister informed that the stipend hike will be eligible for students enrolling for pre-clinical courses like anatomy, physiology and biochemistry and para-clinical streams including FMT, pathology, microbiology and community medicine.