Delhi Govt’s practice of appointing junior doctors on short 44-day contracts has triggered strong criticism from the medical fraternity, with many describing it as exploitative and destabilizing for young professionals.
The issue came to light after a female doctor, who recently served on an interview panel for junior resident posts, shared her concerns on social media. She said most candidates lacked basic clinical knowledge despite clearing NEET PG, while foreign medical graduates fared even worse. “I was shocked to see that even candidates with ranks in the 2,000s lacked minimum competence. The quality was deplorable,” she wrote, adding that the system was pushing desperate doctors burdened with student loans into unstable, low-growth jobs.
Calling the 44-day scheme “a scam,” she argued that the model leaves doctors with no career security. “This process should be declared illegal. Many candidates admitted they were forced into it because of loans their parents had to repay,” she added.
Her post sparked wider debate online. Some users compared the scheme to exploitative labour practices, where manual workers are hired on 89-day cycles with forced breaks to deny them social security benefits like EPF and ESI. “Doctors are being treated worse than daily wage labourers,” one user remarked, arguing that the problem lies as much with medical education and faculty as with students.
The controversy soon drew the attention of the Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Network. Its national spokesperson, Dr. Dhruv Chauhan, appealed to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Health Minister Pankaj Singh to end the 44-day hiring cycle and instead offer contracts of at least one year. “Doctors in such jobs feel neither employed nor unemployed they live in constant uncertainty about the future,” he said.
The growing backlash has intensified calls for the Delhi government to review its recruitment policy and provide young doctors with stable, dignified employment.