FMGE Protest 2026 Enters Day 7: NBEMS signals third exam in November; protestors call it ‘misleading’

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) may hold third FMGE this year in November; however, the proposal is yet to be formally approved, a media report suggests. The FMGE protest has entered its 7th Day, with several sitting on hunger strike, despite an expert committee formed by the NBEMS recommending several changes to the exam.

According to Times of India (TOI), NBE has indicated that a third FMGE could be held this year, before November 14, depending upon the centre availability, which is already being assessed. Although the proposal is yet to be approved formally.

More than 36,000 students appeared for the FMGE June 2026 session. Students are protesting after low pass rate of FMGE June 2026 exam, prompting them to question difficulty level of the foreign medical graduate test.

A few of the students are on hunger strike, including a representative of FMGs, Jaswant Singh, who has been fasting since August 20.

FMG representative Singh has alleged that report claiming NBE panel reviewing proposal to conduct a third exam in November is “misleading”.

“It's a false report without any official confirmation about the November 2026 exam for FMGE. NBE is manipulating news agencies to break our unity and strength but we all will stand tall together and make NBEMS do the justice to all the FMGs. Unless and until our genuine demands of fair compensation,transparency & accountability are not met, we will not give up,” posted on his X account.

Moreover, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is willing to address concerns of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), but there will be no compromise on the minimum competency required to practise medicine in India, a senior official said, as per PTI.

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FMGE 2026: NBEMS committee proposes measures

The statement comes amid an agitation over the FMGE June 2026, even after an expert committee constituted by the board proposed a series of measures to make the exam more transparent and candidate-friendly.

The expert panel has proposed a more balanced question paper structure, with 30% low, 50% moderate, and 20% high-difficulty questions, while recommending that the mean difficulty level should not exceed 5.5.

The three-member panel, headed by Air Marshal (Dr) Pawan Kapoor (Retd), recommended examining the feasibility of holding the FMGE thrice a year, reviewing the exam fee, improving exam-centre infrastructure and allowing candidates access to their recorded responses, subject to technical and legal safeguards.

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No grace marks for June exam 2026

The committee, however, did not recommend ‘grace or compensatory’ marks for the June exam after finding no evidence that the video-based questions or overall difficulty had affected the FMGE results, sources said.

Though the attempt-wise FMGE results provide a notable context to the debate.

Low pass rate in FMGE June

In June 2026, 35.74% of first-time candidates cleared FMGE, compared with 21.45% among second-time aspirants and just 3.29% among those appearing after more than five attempts. In December 2025, the first-time pass rate was high at 47.53%, while it dropped to 5.58% among test-takers with more than five attempts.

Moreover, a senior NBEMS official said the figures reveal why the overall pass percentage alone cannot determine that the exam cohort was subjected to “unfair paper”. He further said: "The issue is to ensure a fair and transparent examination while retaining the competency threshold necessary for patient safety," the official said, stressing that NBEMS remains open to legitimate candidate concerns.

With inputs from PTI