Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Government Says Foreign Medical Graduate Standards Cannot Be Diluted
Foreign-trained medical students must pass a test before practicing medicine in India.
The test is meant to check whether they meet the required standard.
It is not an exam for entering medical school.
Some doctors say the test was too difficult and that the exam process was not transparent.
They have also raised concerns about test-centre facilities.
Officials said the standards should not be lowered.
They also said students who took the June test will not receive extra grace marks.
An expert panel has suggested giving students three chances each year instead of two.
The Foreign Medical Graduates exam is a screening test, not an entrance examination.
National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences officials said qualifying standards cannot be diluted.
Doctors have protested for seven days over difficulty, transparency, and test-centre infrastructure.
NBEMS said no grace marks will be awarded to students who took the June test.
An expert panel proposed holding the exam three times annually instead of twice.
- Who
- Foreign-trained medical graduates, protesting doctors, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, and an expert panel.
- What
- Officials defended the Foreign Medical Graduates screening test’s standards while an expert panel proposed increasing its frequency.
- When
- The doctors had been protesting for seven days, and the disputed test was held in June.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- The test determines whether foreign-trained medical graduates can practice in India; officials said its qualifying standards must be maintained.
Protesting Doctors
NBEMS Officials
Difficulty and standards
Protesting Doctors
Doctors protested against what they described as a high-difficulty test and called for responses to their concerns.
NBEMS Officials
NBEMS said the examination’s qualifying standards cannot be diluted and that students who prepared should pass.
Exam transparency and facilities
Protesting Doctors
Protesting doctors raised concerns about a lack of transparency and test-centre infrastructure.
NBEMS Officials
NBEMS’s response emphasized the exam’s screening purpose but did not announce changes to those concerns.
Attempts and grace marks
Protesting Doctors
The protest came amid demands for relief for affected students, while an expert panel proposed three tests per year instead of two.
NBEMS Officials
NBEMS said no grace marks would be awarded to students who took the June test.
- Exam purpose
- A screening test for foreign-trained medical students seeking to practice in India.
- Current frequency
- The test is currently conducted twice a year.
- Proposed frequency
- An expert panel proposed conducting it three times a year.
- Exam authority
- The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences conducts the test.
- Protest duration
- Doctors had been protesting for seven days when NBEMS issued its response.
- Grace marks
- NBEMS said no grace marks would be given to students who took the June test.