NEW DELHI: Nearly four out of five foreign medical graduates (FMGs) who appeared for the October 2026 Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), mandatory for foreign-trained doctors seeking to practise in India, failed to qualify. Only 9,354 candidates passed, against 31,539 who failed, taking the pass percentage to 22.9%.The results come after months of protests by foreign medical graduates over the June examination, following which the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced a series of measures based on an expert committee’s recommendations. The October 31 examination was scheduled as an additional session to give candidates another opportunity to qualify.The committee had recommended a question-paper difficulty distribution of 30% easy, 50% moderate and 20% difficult questions. It also proposed allowing candidates to view their recorded responses, correct answers and marks awarded for individual questions.However, Dr Samar Kumar, National FMG In-charge, FAIMA, said feedback from candidates suggested that the October paper was moderate to difficult and did not appear to follow the recommended difficulty ratio. He said the October pass percentage of 22.86% was comparable to previous December-January sessions, while the June 2026 pass rate had fallen to around 12%. The absence of video-based questions in October may have contributed to the improvement, he said, as candidates had found them unfamiliar and time-consuming in June.Kumar also flagged the lack of clarity over the promised answer key, distant exam centres and late admit cards, which caused anxiety among candidates. He welcomed the fee reduction but urged NBEMS to clarify its commitments and ensure greater transparency.The results, declared by NBEMS on Tuesday, showed that of the 42,113 candidates listed, 1,190 were absent and the results of 30 candidates were withheld.
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An analysis of the score list showed that 14,613 candidates scored between 125 and 149 marks out of 300 but failed to meet the qualifying threshold of 150. Of these, 5,365 scored between 140 and 149, falling just short of the required marks.Candidates who qualify must undergo in-person identity and credential verification to receive their FMGE pass certificates. NBEMS said the reasons for withholding 30 candidates’ results had been communicated by email. Individual scorecards will be available from November 20 for six months, but cannot be used for registration with State Medical Councils in place of the pass certificate.NBEMS said subject experts reviewed all questions, awarding marks for technically incorrect questions and either accepted answer. Results remain provisional, and candidature may be cancelled if a candidate is found ineligible, even after the result or pass certificate is issued.