Even after getting bonafide degree, foreign medical graduates still struggle to practise in India

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has decided to introduce security audits along with a three-tier security system from registered cyber security firms after fraudsters managed to hack into its system to generate 22 fake medical degrees for students in Maharashtra.

The fraud came to light in August after MMC desk officers noticed registrations for foreign medical graduates (FMGs) issued without the mandatory clearances. The Maharashtra nodal cyber police bust a wider inter-state racket this week, and arrested Rahul Patil, an agent from Nashik, along with two FMGs from Buldhana, Varun Akhade, 28 and Sanket Unhale, 26, who had reportedly paid lakhs of rupees to procure the certificates.

The incident also reflects the desperation of FMGs who encounter hurdles in their path even after acquiring their medical degrees abroad. The reason for this is the mandatory Foreign Medical Graduate Exams (FMGE) conducted by the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). After acquiring a medical degree from abroad, a doctor has to clear the FMGE exams in order to be able to get a medical registration to practise in India. The various state medical councils grant registration only if this exam is cleared.

What are the issues once students return?

Cross-verification by states is one. "When the FMGs submit their documents to us, we verify them online with the NMC as also with the issuing medical boards before issuing our MMC registration," explained MMC president, Dr Sanjay Kadam.

So, what is the problem in giving this clearance exam?

The exams are said to be very difficult. "In the FMGE exams conducted in June 2026, only 12.38% students passed," explained Dr Apurv Dalvi, national convenor of the Foreign Medical Graduates Association wing of the All-India Medical Students Association. "A student has to prepare the entire five-year syllabus for this five-hour exam. It's like doing five years of study all over again. At times, questions are also asked beyond the syllabus. Worse, they keep changing the pattern of the exams. In the latest exam held in April 2026, they had video-based questions. Are we guinea pigs to have all kinds of exam patterns being experimented on us?"

FMGs protested on these issues at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 3. "Following our protest, we successfully got the government to increase the number of exams being conducted from twice a year to thrice a year," explained Dr Dalvi. "We also got NBEMS to reduce the examination fee from ₹6,195 to around ₹4,650. "While there is no bar on the number of times FMGs can attempt this clearance exam, the rule is that they have to clear the exams within 10 years of their first year of medical course."

Why do students pursue medical studies abroad?

Apart from the high scores needed to study medicine in India, private college courses are very expensive. "You become a doctor at one-fourth the cost abroad," said an office-bearer of a medical body. "At ₹25 lakh per annum, getting a degree from a private medical college could cost more than a crore. Abroad, you can become a doctor for just ₹25 lakh, inclusive of the travel and the hostel costs."

What are the precautions that students need to take before studying abroad?

"The NMC has listed all the major international medical colleges that are aligned with the syllabus that India follows," said Dr Dalvi. "Students should check this beforehand and ideally study only at these institutions. The NMC has also determined the course schedule to be followed -- namely 4.5 years of theory and one year of internship."

Why are the Indian procedure exams so important?

"They help us separate the bogus doctors from the genuine ones, which is very crucial for the medical fraternity and for patients," said Dr Kadam.