New Delhi: AIIMS RDA in a letter wrote that 65 foreign national doctors employed at AIIMS have not received their salaries. "Currently, there are 65 foreign national doctors in AIIMS New Delhi, who, over and above their regular clinical duties are also performing COVID duties since March 2020. They are performing such duties even by putting their own life at risk and by rankling the mind of their parents etc., all the time. They are not being paid a single penny towards stipend, (despite explicit instructions to the contrary)", said the letter dated April 30 this year. "The Prime Ministers Office has, in response, notified the Joint Secretaries of relevant ministries, who in turn notified the AIIMS DDA (Deputy Director - Administration), currently IAS Vishal Chauhan, who said that he will look into the matter, as did the Health Secretary when I personally messaged him regarding the matter", an RDA member said. "The ministry also asked for the financial implications in this matter to which the AIIMS administration responded that it would hardly be Rs 6 to 7 crore per annum (a fraction of AIIMS operating budget)." However, the AIIMS administration is adamant that they will not pay these foreign nationals working as resident doctors. AIIMS RDA has since then been making repeated requests to the administration for the same and raising this issue with the government. However, Associate Dean Rajeev Kumar at AIIMS has said that he considers it unethical to pay foreign nationals working as resident doctors at AIIMS and that the institute is already doing them a mercy by giving them seats and thereby an opportunity to work there. "Till I am here, it is impossible", he is said to have remarked according to one senior member of the AIIMS RDA. "They write the same exam, they do the same duty and are currently on COVID-19 duty treating Indian citizens", he said. The matter was also raised before the Delhi High Court 6-7 years ago in which the court directed that these doctors be paid. However, AIIMS administration repealed the matter and it has since been stuck in legal limbo, RDA members said. There are 3 Institutes of National Importance (INIs) where foreign national residents come to study after clearing the INI CET exam (Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test) which is conducted by AIIMS, Delhi. While foreign nationals come from all SAARC countries, a majority of doctors in AIIMS are from Nepal. These doctors are not sponsored by their respective governments and clear the same exam as Indian residents. But prior to 2016, they were not being paid.

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