J&K NHM Contractual Staff Get 5% Annual Increment for 2026-27

The Jammu and Kashmir government has sanctioned a 5% annual increment for eligible contractual employees of the National Health Mission (NHM) in the Union Territory for the financial year 2026-27. Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo announced the decision on X on Saturday, 7 November. Local reports carried the announcement the same day.

Who Gets the Raise

The announcement covers “eligible” NHM contractual staff, who work in health facilities across J&K. Itoo’s post did not define eligibility, and the reports IPB News read do not say how many employees are covered or what the increment will cost. One report, by The Kashmir Horizon, says the increment applies from 1 April, the start of the financial year; the other reports give no effective date.

A Promise the Government Says It Has Kept

Itoo described the decision as an important step in recognising the workforce’s dedication and said the government was acting on a promise it had made. Reports do not say when the promise was made. She added that the government would keep working for a more responsive and inclusive health system under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

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NHM contractual staff are hired on fixed terms under a centrally supported scheme, and annual increments are a long-standing demand among such employees in several states. The J&K announcement does not say whether regularisation, which these groups also ask for, is under consideration.

Orders Still to Come

The formal order from the Health and Medical Education Department will set out the eligibility conditions and the date from which the increment is paid. Until that order is public, the number of employees who benefit remains unknown.

Source: Based on reporting by INS, Kashmir Life and The Kashmir Horizon.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.