‘Qualifying standards cannot be diluted’: Government on screening test for foreign medical graduates

The National Board of Education in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which administers the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) exam, has firmly rejected calls to lower the qualifying standards for the screening test that allows foreign-trained medical graduates to practice in India. Officials emphasized that the FMG exam is not an entrance examination but a crucial assessment of doctors' competence to handle life-threatening situations.

Despite a low overall pass percentage, first-time candidates generally performed better, with a 35.74% pass rate compared to 21.45% for second-time candidates and a mere 3.29% for those who had attempted the test over five times. The NBEMS also noted that the pass rate among first-timers was even higher in the December 2025 test at 47.53%, compared to 5.58% for candidates with more than five attempts.

An expert panel, led by Air Marshal (Dr.) Pawan Kapoor (Retd.), reviewed the situation and did not recommend granting grace marks due to a lack of evidence that recent changes, such as video-based questions or increased difficulty, negatively impacted the test outcomes. Instead, the panel suggested conducting three tests per year rather than the current two, which would provide more opportunities for Indian students who have completed their medical education abroad.