Karnataka Health Department revises salaries of doctors and staff nurses under NHM 

Following support from the Centre, Karnataka’s Health Department has present made an upward revision successful the salaries of doctors and unit nurses, who volition beryllium recently recruited nether the National Health Mission (NHM).

Announcing the caller wage operation astatine a property league connected Wednesday, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that owed to comparatively little salaries, a ample fig of doc posts nether the NHM person remained vacant contempt efforts to initiate recruitment processes.

The unattractive wage standard has led to constricted involvement from qualified candidates, causing these vacancies to persist implicit a agelong period. Currently, of the 1,398 approved positions for MBBS doctors nether the NHM for 2024–2025, lone 819 person been filled, leaving 579 positions vacant. Of the 899 sanctioned posts of specializer doctor, 305 stay vacant. Similarly, 936 of the 9,041 sanctioned posts of unit caregiver are yet to beryllium filled.

“Following a elaborate connection submitted by the State government, support has been granted nether the NHM Supplementary Record of Proceedings (RoP) 2024–2026 for the revised wage structure,” helium said.

Giving details of the revised wage scale, the Minister said the monthly wage of MBBS doctors has been raised to ₹60,000, up from the earlier scope of ₹46,895 to ₹50,000. Major objective specialists (OBG, paediatrics, anaesthesia, wide medicine, orthopaedics, surgery, and ophthalmology) volition present person ₹1,40,000, an summation from the erstwhile scope of ₹1,10,000 to ₹1,30,000. The wage of unit nurses has been revised to ₹22,000, from the earlier scope of ₹14,186 to ₹18,774, the Minister said.

“In the lawsuit of experienced candidates, an further 2.5% increment per twelvemonth of applicable acquisition volition beryllium provided astatine the clip of appointment,” the Minister said.

Only for caller recruits

Pointing retired that the revised wage operation volition use lone to recently recruited personnel, Mr. Rao said existing unit would proceed to person their existent salaries.

“We cannot revise the salaries of the existing unit arsenic they are already getting an yearly increment of 5%. However, they whitethorn take to resign and reapply nether the caller recruitment process. During this process, penchant volition beryllium fixed (weightage of 2 marks awarded per twelvemonth of service) to existent employees based connected their experience,” helium said.

He said determination was nary warrant that they would get appointed for sure, arsenic the recruitment is purely connected merit. “The wage revision is expected to pull a larger excavation of qualified doctors nether the NHM, thereby improving services related to maternal and kid health, surgeries, and some inpatient and outpatient care. “Ultimately, this volition heighten healthcare transportation and payment the nationalist astatine large,” helium said.

Delayed salaries 

Clarifying that the hold successful outgo of 2 months’ salaries to the existing unit was due to the fact that of the hold successful disbursal of funds from the Centre, Mr. Rao said the contented would beryllium resolved successful the adjacent fewer days.

“This is simply a regular improvement each twelvemonth astatine the commencement of the caller fiscal year. However, we were managing by paying them from the remaining excavation of the opening balance. This year, we person spent implicit 95% of the NHM allocation, and determination are nary equilibrium funds,” helium added.

Published - May 14, 2025 08:27 p.m. IST