96,545 candidates cleared FMGE from 2004-2024: MoS Health
New Delhi: During the last twenty years, altogether 96,545 candidates have qualified the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE), the Union Minister of State for Health, Smt Anupriya Patel had informed the Rajya Sabha
The Minister provided the information while responding to the queries raised by a Parliament member, Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu, who sought to know the status of Foreign Trained Doctors in the country.
Sandhu sought the details on the number of Indian students who returned to the country after completing MBBS or other medical degrees abroad in the last twenty years, year-wise. Further, he asked the Ministry to provide the number of foreign-trained doctors who are currently registered or practicing in the country, the measures being taken to integrate these graduates into the national health system considering doctor-to-patient ratio and rural demand, and asked whether any reforms are proposed in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) and bridge courses.
In response to these queries, the Union MoS Health informed that the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 to regulate the process of issuance of license or permanent registration to practice in India in respect of Foreign Medical Graduates and are uniformly applicable to all the FMGs.
Further, she informed that the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021 regulate all aspects of compulsory rotating medical internship.
"As informed by National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), 96,545 candidates have qualified FMGE during last twenty years i.e from 2004 to 2024," added the Minister.
Under the existing rules, after completing their medical degrees abroad, the FMGs are required to first clear the screening test i.e. FMGE and undergo the mandatory internship. Only after this, they become eligible for permanent registration certificates, which is required for the FMGs to either practice in India or pursue higher education.
Over the years, FMGE has recorded a poor pass percentage among those who appeared in the exam. However, in the December 2024 exam, around 29.62% of the candidates had cleared the screening test. Therefore, from the last FMGE cycle, there has been a steep decline in the pass percentage.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that last year also more than 27,000 candidates i.e. around 81.7% candidates, failed the FMGE June 2024 exam, and only 21.6% of candidates cleared it.
For the June 2023 cycle of the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination, shockingly, more than 87% of the candidates had failed in the exam. Only a very few candidates i.e. altogether 2474 medical graduates from abroad cleared the FMGE June 2023 test. However, what had shocked everyone is that a huge number of 21,180 candidates out of the total 24269 candidates failed the exam, therefore, resulting in the failure of more than 87% of the total candidates.
Similarly, in the December 2023 cycle of the screening test, 78% candidates failed the test and only 20% candidates were able to clear it. The recently released results for FMGE June 2025 revealed that only 18. 61% of the students cleared the screening test in June 2025, and more than 81% of the candidates who appeared in the FMGE June 2025 have failed to clear the exam.
Also Read: FMGE Shocker: More than 81 percent students fail June 2025 exam, only 18.6 percent pass
