NBEMS to conduct third-FMGE on October 31; January exam postponed

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) earlier this week confirmed conducting the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) three times a year, instead of the existing twice-a-year schedule. As part of the revised schedule, NBEMS will conduct an additional FMGE on October 31, 2026.

The examination will continue to be conducted through a computer-based platform at various examination centres across the country. The board has not yet released the detailed schedule or application dates for this examination.

Candidates will have to refer to the Information Bulletin, which NBEMS said will be published separately on its official website, natboard.edu.in. The notice also changes the schedule of the next FMGE. The examination that was earlier scheduled for January 9, 2027, will now be postponed to a later date in January or February 2027.

NBEMS said the revised date and other details will be notified separately. The move means that eligible foreign medical graduates will get an additional opportunity to appear for the screening test before the next regular examination.

The FMGE is the screening examination for Indian students and certain overseas Indian citizens who have obtained their primary medical qualification from medical institutions outside India and seek to practise medicine in India.

Candidates are required to qualify the examination as per the prescribed requirements before they can proceed with registration and further requirements for medical practice in India. The decision comes after protests by foreign medical graduates over the June 2026 FMGE results.

Candidates had been seeking changes to the qualifying criteria and greater transparency in the examination and evaluation process. Foreign medical graduates had been protesting in Gautam Nagar, New Delhi, over the June 2026 FMGE results.

The protests continued for several days, with candidates raising concerns over the low pass rate and demanding greater transparency in the examination process. The protest later included a hunger strike. The June session had a pass rate of around 12.38 per cent, with 4,640 candidates qualifying out of 37,448 who appeared.

NBEMS had maintained that the examination standards needed to be preserved. The additional October examination now provides eligible candidates with an earlier opportunity to appear for FMGE, while the board's decision to conduct the examination three times a year changes the frequency of the test going forward.