Hunger Strike: Indian FMGs Demand Exam Relief

Indian foreign medical graduates (FMGs) are protesting in Delhi, with some on hunger strike, following the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences' (NBEMS) consideration of their concerns regarding the June 2026 examination. The recent demonstrations follow unsuccessful discussions where candidates felt their primary demand for compensation for the June exam remained unresolved. The June Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) saw a significantly low pass rate of 12.38% among 37,448 candidates, triggering initial protests due to alleged exam difficulty, new video-based questions, and transparency issues.

The FMGE serves as a screening test for foreign-trained doctors wishing to practice in India. While the Health Ministry proposed a National Exit Test (NExT) that could offer a common framework, protesters see it as a potential future level playing field. Following earlier protests at Jantar Mantar on August 3, NBEMS formed a committee to review the June exam. Although discussions yielded recommendations for future exams, including more transparency and deferral of video questions for a year, no compensatory marks were recommended for the June candidates, leading to the current unrest.

Protesters argue that if NBEMS acknowledges the need for changes in future examinations, the June batch deserves relief. They highlight a meeting where NBEMS allegedly failed to respond regarding a request to review disputed questions within a promised 24-hour period. The introduction of video-based questions without adequate notice remains a major grievance, with the expert committee recommending their deferral for at least a year. However, officials maintain that these questions assess clinical signs crucial for competency, and low pass rates are partly due to varied foreign training compared to India's healthcare environment.