New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) About 460 foreign medical graduates this year cleared the screening exam that makes them eligible to practice in India, while the number was 1,326 last year, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said here Friday.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha, the health minister said that in 2007, of the 3,143 foreign degree holders who appeared for the examinations conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE), only 536 passed.

In 2008, 4,211 sat for the examination and 1,326 cleared it. This year, of the 2,289 foreign degree holders who have written the exam so far, 460 have passed.

All foreign medical degree holders who want to practice in India have to clear the examination that enables them to get registered with the Medical Council of India (MCI).

MCI is a statutory body that regulates medical colleges, new colleges and doctors’ registrations.

The minister said that according to the NBE, there is a well defined and prescribed syllabus for examination that is contained in the information bulletin for the screening test.

Azad said the examination is only a qualifying one and not merit based so marks obtained by the candidates are not revealed.

“The examination system is transparent and papers are evaluated on computer and results generated and notified within a few hours of conducting the examination,” he added.

After the screening examination, the eligible candidates are trained and then they can practice in India.

India recognises medical degrees from countries such as Bangladesh, Ireland and Nepal with which it has reciprocal agreements to recognize Indian degrees.

Last year, former health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had announced that physicians with US postgraduate degrees can practice medicine in India and teach in the country’s medical colleges.

At that time, the health ministry had also decided to recognise advanced medical degrees from Britain, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.