BENGALURU: The state government has approved pay revision up to 55 per cent for doctors and nurses under National Health Mission (NHM). There is a caveat--the new pay structure will be applicable only to newly recruited staff under the scheme.
The key beneficiaries of the pay upgrade will be MBBS medical officers, specialist doctors, and staff nurses working in Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) and Intensive Care Units (ICUs), said Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, addressing the press on Wednesday.
The revised pay structure has been cleared under the NHM Supplementary Record of Proceedings (RoP) 2024–26, he said.
With this cash injection, the government is aiming to tackle the high number of vacancies and improve healthcare services under the National Health Mission (NHM).
The existing employees have the option to resign and reapply for the positions under the new recruitment process if they wish to benefit from the revised salary.
As an incentive, these in-service candidates will be awarded two marks for every year of completed service, which will be considered during selection.
Currently, there are 9,041 staff nurse positions sanctioned under the NHM scheme, out of which 8,105 are filled and 936 remain vacant.
For MBBS doctors, 1,398 posts were approved, but only 819 are filled while 579 are vacant. Similarly, for specialist doctors, 305 out of 899 posts are vacant.
The Health Minister said that one of the main reasons for these long-pending vacancies is the lower salary offered under NHM, which has failed to attract qualified candidates despite repeated recruitment attempts.
“The new pay structure increases salaries by approximately 20–55%, depending on the post,” the minister added.
MBBS doctors who were earlier paid between Rs 46,895 and Rs 50,000 will now receive Rs 60,000 per month. Specialist doctors will get Rs 1,40,000, an increase from the earlier range of Rs 1,10,000 to Rs 1,30,000. Staff nurses, who were drawing between Rs 14,186 and Rs 18,774, will now be paid Rs 22,000.
Gundu Rao further highlighted that for major clinical specialists in departments such as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Anaesthesia, General Medicine, Orthopaedics, Surgery, and Ophthalmology, the fixed starting salary has been set at Rs 1,40,000.
In addition, candidates with relevant experience will receive an extra 2.5% pay increase for each year of experience at the time of appointment.
Gundu Rao said that the revision will help attract more doctors and nurses to NHM positions, which in turn will strengthen healthcare services across the state. “Better staffing in SNCUs, ICUs, and other critical care units is expected to improve maternal and child health services, surgeries, and overall patient care in government facilities,” the minister added.
Contractual Staff Without Salary
Pointing to reports that highlighted that nearly 3,000 contractual staff under the National Health Mission (NHM) in Karnataka — many of whom risked their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic — have been working without salaries for almost three months, Gundu Rao clarified that the salary is pending from a month and that the department is looking into it.