The Union Health Ministry had approved the payout allowance of Rs. 5000 to 7000 last year for resident doctors who risk infections from needle-prick injuries or cuts that occur while treating patients.

The approval would require changes to the residency clause so that the allowance will be available to all doctors in India, and not just those working in high active field areas like borders, epidemic locales, or counter-insurgency operations as per the 7th Central Pay Commission recommendation. Resident doctors have also been demanding allowance because of the increasing number of incidents of doctors being manhandles by patients' families.