FMG Screening Test: Qualifying Standards Cannot Be Diluted, Says NBEMS
NBEMS defends FMG exam standards, rejects grace marks, cites higher first-timer pass rates and expert panel findings.
The National Board of Education in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which conducts the biannual Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) examination, has firmly stated that the qualifying standards for the test cannot be relaxed. The exam, it emphasised, is a screening test to assess the competence of Indian students who have completed their medical education abroad, not an entrance examination.
The statement comes in response to a week-long protest by doctors who have raised concerns over the test's difficulty level, lack of transparency, and inadequate test centre infrastructure. NBEMS officials have ruled out granting grace marks to candidates who appeared for the June session, asserting that those who prepared adequately have cleared the test.
Defending the stringent standards, an official said that doctors must be equipped to handle life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, sepsis, complicated pregnancies, and paediatric crises. "The minimum qualifying standard exists because doctors must be competent to handle potentially life-threatening situations," the official added.
While the overall pass percentage remains low, NBEMS highlighted that first-time candidates fared significantly better. Data shows a pass rate of 35.74% among first-timers, compared to 21.45% for second-time candidates and just 3.29% for those with more than five attempts. In the December 2025 test, first-timers achieved a 47.53% pass rate, against a mere 5.58% for repeat candidates. These figures, the official argued, indicate that the overall pass percentage alone cannot be used to claim that the entire cohort faced an unfair paper.
An expert panel, headed by Air Marshal (Dr.) Pawan Kapoor (Retd.), reviewed the matter and found no material evidence that video-based questions or the overall difficulty level had affected outcomes. The panel did not recommend grace marks. However, it has proposed increasing the frequency of the exam from two to three times a year, which would provide more opportunities for Indian students who have graduated abroad.