Nearly ten months after Union minister of health and family welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda approved the technical cadre restructuring, over 1,200 technical cadre staff at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) are yet to receive their financial and promotional benefits due to implementation delays.
Technical staff at the PGIMER include all professionals who conduct first and second-line testing. Their duties include conducting complete blood counts, CT scans, MRIs, ECGs, histopathological testing, etc. The technical cadre restructuring is to be implemented retroactively from March 1, 1992, providing benefits to staff working or hired from 1992 onwards.
The governing body, headed by Nadda, first approved the restructuring in its 130th meeting on February 26, 2025. It was subsequently approved by the institute body, also headed by Nadda, in its 118th meeting on May 16, 2025.
However, the restructuring has yet to be implemented by the estate office of the institute, according to PGI Medical Technologists Union president Ajay Jha. After the May approval, the governing body flagged concerns over the restructuring delay continuously—first during a meeting on September 2, and then on December 30, 2025—but to no avail.
Jha alleged that all necessary approvals for restructuring were completed in 2025 only, but the work is waiting for approval with the estate office of PGIMER. “Earlier, the grade pay of technical staff was ₹4,200 at the time of joining and reached only ₹4,600 by retirement. However, with the implementation of the new six-tier cadre structure, the grade pay will go up to ₹7,600 by retirement,” said Jha.
{{/usCountry}}Jha alleged that all necessary approvals for restructuring were completed in 2025 only, but the work is waiting for approval with the estate office of PGIMER. “Earlier, the grade pay of technical staff was ₹4,200 at the time of joining and reached only ₹4,600 by retirement. However, with the implementation of the new six-tier cadre structure, the grade pay will go up to ₹7,600 by retirement,” said Jha.
{{/usCountry}}He said that earlier, medical technologists could get promotion only to level 3—the post of technical assistant. “Many got stuck there for decades with zero promotions. Now, a new six-level system opens up the ladder. Staff can move up to lab supervisor and senior technical officer, all the way to the top administrative role: chief technical officer,” he said.
Jha explained that the delay in implementing the cadre restructuring is causing the staff to lose their patient care, travel, and other allowances, which will not be paid retroactively.
“In the earlier three-tier cadre structure, medical technologists had no role in the purchasing process of high-end equipment, although they were the ones operating them. However, with the new cadre restructuring, staff will be able to provide input on high-end equipment purchases, given they will hold administrative positions, whether for a CT scan, MRI, or any other machine,” Jha said.
He said that the PGI governing body has repeatedly criticised its estate office for the snail-paced implementation of the technical cadre restructuring.
In its December 2025 meeting, the body ordered the institute to complete the process within two months in a “mission mode,” noting that the ongoing delay unfairly deprives eligible employees of their benefits.
Despite repeated efforts, senior administrative officer Roshan Lal Thakur and deputy director (administration) Pankaj Rai remained unavailable for comment.