Thousands of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) who recently passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) are facing prolonged delays in securing their passing certificates, leading to them missing out on crucial internship opportunities. The issue was first highlighted by Dr Ashwini Dalmiya, President Elect of Delhi Medical Association and an Executive member of Delhi Medical Council in a tweet, where he stated:
"NBE issues only 250 passing certificates/day to FMG as directed by CBI after biometrics etc. @NbeIndia need to increase manpower because many lose the opportunity to apply for internships @official_afa_ or direct all SMCs to accept result score @NMC_IND"
Following his tweet, EdexLive reached out to Dr Dalmiya for an interview, where he elaborated on the matter.
As an executive member of the Delhi Medical Council, he noted that many students frequently approach him regarding these delays. According to him, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) issues only 250 passing certificates per day after an extensive one-hour verification process per student, significantly slowing down the system.
Dr Dalmiya explained that approximately 13,000 FMGs passed the last FMGE out of nearly 40,000 applicants. However, the bureaucratic bottleneck means that many are left waiting for months to receive their certificates, a prerequisite for applying to internships in India.
The stringent verification process was introduced after multiple cases of fraudulent FMG registrations surfaced, leading to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiries into state medical councils. Authorities decided that FMGs would not be registered solely on the basis of their FMGE results. Instead, they must undergo another round of document verification, including biometric authentication, before obtaining their passing certificates.
“This process alone takes more than two months,” Dr Dalmiya explained and added, “Imagine the frustration of FMGs — they pass the exam but cannot apply for internships without their certificates.” He further highlighted that since verifications are conducted alphabetically, candidates from certain countries, such as Ukraine, end up waiting even longer, missing critical internship openings.
Many FMGs, therefore, have no choice but to wait until the following year for fresh opportunities.
Despite the challenges faced by FMGs, there has been no official response from the NBE. Dr Dalmiya pointed out that while authorities insist on repeated verifications to prevent fraudulent registrations, the lack of coordination between the NMC, state medical councils, and the NBE is compounding the delays.
“Nobody wants to take risks after the scams that surfaced, so authorities are in favour of rigorous scrutiny,” he said and added, “However, the key issue here is manpower. Increasing staff for the verification process would be the most practical solution to ease the suffering of FMGs.”
With no resolution in sight, FMGs remain caught in a bureaucratic nightmare, losing valuable time in their medical careers.
Calls for increasing manpower and streamlining the verification process are growing, but unless authorities act swiftly, another batch of FMGs could find themselves in the same predicament next year.
