The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has ruled out lowering the qualifying standard for foreign medical graduates (FMGs), stating that the required standards cannot be diluted. The position has drawn attention to the contrasting treatment of Indian medical graduates appearing for NEET-PG, where qualifying cut-offs have been reduced significantly in recent years.
For FMGs, the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) requires candidates to secure 50% marks to qualify. NEET-PG, the centralised entrance examination taken by Indian medical graduates for postgraduate admissions, uses a percentile-based qualifying system.
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The initial NEET-PG cut-off for the general category was set at the 50th percentile, which was equivalent to roughly 35% marks, while the cut-off for reserved categories was 40th percentile, equivalent to around 30% marks. However, the qualifying percentile has been reduced repeatedly in an effort to fill vacant postgraduate seats.
In 2023, the NEET-PG qualifying percentile was reduced to zero for all categories. This meant that every candidate who appeared for the examination was considered qualified, including those who scored negative marks. In 2024, the cut-off was reduced to the fifth percentile for all categories. The equivalent percentage score could not be calculated that year because marks data was not made public.
The differences have prompted questions about what could happen if the same 50% marks standard used in FMGE were applied to NEET-PG. According to the report, only around 25% of candidates who appeared for NEET-PG over the previous five years would have qualified if the cut-off had remained at 50% marks.
The proposed National Exit Test (NExT), which is intended to serve as a common licensing-cum-entrance examination for foreign and Indian medical graduates, has also been postponed indefinitely. This has added to the uncertainty surrounding how India will eventually create a common benchmark for medical graduates.
The NBE has highlighted an important distinction between FMGE and NEET-PG. FMGE is a screening examination intended to determine whether foreign-trained medical graduates can qualify for a licence to practise medicine in India. NEET-PG, meanwhile, is primarily a ranking examination for Indian graduates who have already completed their final-year MBBS examinations and are competing for postgraduate seats.
The report also points to differences in the way medical education is regulated in India. FMGE was introduced in 2002 after the Medical Council of India sought to ensure that doctors trained abroad met required standards. FMGs were also required to complete a one-year internship at an institution approved by the regulator after clearing the examination.
Since November 2021, FMGs have additionally been required to obtain a licence to practise medicine in the country where they completed their medical education before appearing for FMGE.
At the same time, India has expanded its domestic medical education infrastructure. Between 2014 and 2026, the number of medical colleges increased from 387 to 818, while MBBS seats rose from more than 51,300 to around 1.3 lakh. The expansion has also brought complaints about inadequate faculty, infrastructure and patient loads in some institutions.
The contrasting standards have therefore raised a broader question: can India maintain strict screening requirements for foreign-trained doctors while allowing increasingly relaxed qualifying standards for its own medical graduates?
