- The NBEMS is accepting registrations for FMGE until December 14, 2025
- FMGE is mandatory for Indian citizens or OCIs with foreign medical degrees
- The exam has 300 MCQs split into two 150-minute sessions with timed sections
The National Board of Examination in Medical Science (NBEMS) is currently taking registrations for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE). Candidates have the option to complete the registration process by December 14, 2025. The exam is conducted by the National Board of Examinations for Indian citizen or OCI who complete their primary medical qualification from a non-Indian institution but intend to practice in India.
Foreign medical graduates are required to qualify this examination before registering with the National Medical Commission or State Medical Council.
The pass percentage of the FMGE is consistently low ranging between 10-25 per cent. Students are required to score at least 150 marks out of 300. The FMGE question paper consists of 300 multiple-choice questions, divided into two sessions. Each session contains 150 questions and lasts for 150 minutes. The exam includes multiple timed sections within each session. For example, if there are three sections (A, B, and C), each section contains 50 questions, with 50 minutes allocated per section.
This percentage was recorded as low as 4.93 per cent in 2014, while the highest qualifying percentage was recorded as 39 in the December 2022 FMGE.
As per information shared by the government, the pass percentage of students who have pursued medical education from Bangladesh, Nepal has been relatively better than those who have graduated from other countries such as Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan among others.
Lack of clinical exposure
Experts cite lack of clinical exposure and substandard medical education in the foreign medical colleges as one of the reasons for the low pass percentage in the exam.
Unlike the medical colleges in India, the colleges in the foreign countries do not have proper infrastructure. The students enrolled in these medical colleges are not trained in hospitals. On the other hand, medical students from India have to undergo mandatory one year internship to complete their MBBS degree. The absence of patient exposure and clinical training deprives the foreign medical students to have the essential knowledge required for practicing in India. Therefore, these students find it difficult to qualify the licensing exam in the country.
Experts also cite that reducing the difficulty level of the licensing exam is also not a viable option as it will be unfair to have unskilled doctors in the country.
The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination is a screening test for medical graduates seeking eligibility to practice medicine in the country. It is administered twice a year in June and December by the National Board of Examinations. The examination is open to both Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) aiming to acquire the registration certificate from either the National Medical Commission (NMC) or the State Medical Council (SMC).
The exam is conducted biannually by the NBEMS to screen Indian or overseas citizens who possess a primary medical qualification awarded by any medical institution outside India and who wish to obtain provisional or permanent registration with the Medical Council of India or any State Medical Council.
