Tamil Nadu MBBS graduates face scarce jobs and low pay

Thousands of MBBS graduates in Tamil Nadu are caught between scarce government jobs and low pay in private hospitals, The Federal reports. M Senthil Kumar, who graduated in 2020, works a contractual job under the National Health Mission for Rs 60,000 a month, but says the state stopped creating new medical posts in 2012. Another graduate, Ramachandran, earns Rs 50,000 a month after five years at a private hospital in Chennai and works 12-hour shifts.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister KG Arunraj told the media the state has filled 99 per cent of sanctioned posts. But doctors’ associations say the sanctioned strength of roughly 22,000 posts has not increased since 2011, while demand requires double that number. The Tamil Nadu Medical Recruitment Board did not hold exams from 2018 to 2021, and specialist doctors joined the competition when recruitment resumed. Official data shows 30,000 doctors competed for 1,000 posts in 2025.

The Federal quotes graduates saying private hospitals run like sweatshops despite Tamil Nadu being a leading medical tourism hub, attracting about 45 per cent of international health tourists. Nearly 11,000 new MBBS doctors graduate from the state's colleges each year, but many cannot afford to start clinics or repay loans. A Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution has opposed NEET and the FCRA Bill, with only the lone BJP MLA voting against.