India, Sept. 28 -- Nearly a thousand junior resident doctors in their third year across Maharashtra's government and semi-government medical colleges are staring at a financial and accommodation crisis after delays in their final postgraduate examinations left them without pay.

The doctors, from the 2022 batch, are employed on 36-month contracts beginning from the date of admission. During this period, they are paid stipends while preparing for their final examinations, which typically fall within the three-year window. But this year, the exam schedule has been pushed to between late November and the first week of January-well beyond the end of most contracts, which lapse by September or October.

As a result, over 1,000 junior residents...