FMGE Syllabus 2026: Subject Marks and How to Study Them

The FMGE syllabus is the full Indian MBBS course, tested in 300 multiple choice questions. NBEMS bases it on the NMC's Competency Based Undergraduate Curriculum and publishes a blueprint that fixes how many marks each subject gets: 100 for pre and para clinical subjects, 200 for clinical ones. You pass with 150 of 300.

That blueprint is the most useful page in the whole bulletin, and most candidates skim past it. Read it properly and the FMGE syllabus stops being "everything in medicine" and becomes a list with weights, which is something you can actually plan around before the 31 October 2026 exam.

Key Takeaways

• The FMGE syllabus follows the Indian MBBS curriculum. NBEMS says the subjects come from the NMC's Competency Based Undergraduate Curriculum, not from your own university's course.
• 300 marks, split by a fixed blueprint. Pre and para clinical subjects carry 100 marks and clinical subjects carry 200.
• Four subjects carry 125 marks. Medicine (33), General Surgery (32), Obstetrics and Gynaecology (30) and Community Medicine (30).
• The pass mark is 150 of 300, with no negative marking. Only Pass or Fail is published, and there is no re-evaluation.
• The October 2026 sitting is on 31 October. Admit cards come out on 27 October and the result is due by 30 November 2026.

What is the FMGE syllabus based on?

The FMGE syllabus is the subject list of the Indian MBBS degree. Clause 12.1 of the FMGE October 2026 Information Bulletin says the test covers subjects and knowledge areas "as per the Competency Based Undergraduate Curriculum published by the National Medical Commission for MBBS Course". Clause 12.2 then gives the subject wise marks.

Why the Indian curriculum and not the one you studied? Because the FMGE is a screening test. Its job is to check that a degree earned outside India gives you the knowledge an Indian MBBS graduate has. The NMC's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 say the same thing in their own words: a foreign course must give theory, practical and clinical training "equivalent to" the MBBS of India.

So the FMGE syllabus is not a separate exam syllabus with its own textbooks. It is the MBBS you have already studied, measured against the Indian version of it. If you want to see what that Indian course looks like year by year, NEETsheet has a clear breakdown of the MBBS syllabus in India.

How are the 300 FMGE marks split between subjects?

NBEMS splits the 300 marks across 20 subjects in two blocks. The table below is copied from the blueprint in the October 2026 bulletin, with nothing added or rounded. It is the FMGE syllabus with its weights attached.

The bulletin groups Psychiatry, Dermatology and Radiotherapy under "Medicine and allied subjects" (48 marks together), and Anaesthesiology, Orthopaedics and Radiodiagnosis under "General Surgery and allied subjects" (47 marks together).

Which subjects carry the most FMGE marks?

Four subjects carry 125 of the 300 marks: Medicine (33), General Surgery (32), Obstetrics and Gynaecology (30) and Community Medicine (30). That is about 42 percent of the paper from four subjects. Add Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and ENT at 15 each and you reach 170, which is already more than the 150 you need to pass.

That doesn't mean you can skip everything else. Nobody scores full marks in their strongest subjects, so you need the rest of the FMGE syllabus to cover the gap. But it tells you where an extra week buys the most marks.

Two subjects deserve special attention because students from abroad often underrate them:

• Community Medicine (30 marks). It carries as many marks as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and it is heavily Indian: national health programmes, Indian epidemiology, Indian public health structures. A European course teaches public health, but not India's version of it. This is the one part of the FMGE syllabus you almost certainly need to learn fresh.
• Forensic Medicine (10 marks). Indian forensic medicine includes Indian law and procedure. Again, your university taught the medicine, not the Indian legal side.

At the other end, six subjects carry just 5 marks each: Psychiatry, Dermatology, Radiotherapy, Anaesthesiology, Orthopaedics and Radiodiagnosis. Together that is 30 marks. Cover the high yield basics of each, and don't let any one of them eat a week.

How does the exam format change the way you study?

The FMGE is one paper of 300 questions, sat in two parts of 150 questions on the same day, with 153 minutes for each part. Every question has four options, all in English. And there is no negative marking, so a blank answer is a lost mark you could have guessed.

Three rules in the bulletin should shape your practice:

• Sections lock. Each part is split into timed sections. The bulletin's own example is three sections of 50 questions with 50 minutes each. Once a section's time ends, you can't go back to it. Practise in 50 question blocks with a hard stop, not in open ended sets.
• Only Pass or Fail is published. NBEMS does not publish your marks per part, and there is no re-totalling, re-evaluation or grace marks. You can't appeal your way over the line, so aim with a buffer above 150.
• No limit on attempts, but one pass ends it. The bulletin says there are no restrictions on the number of attempts. Once you pass, you can't sit the FMGE again.

NBEMS also says it will now hold the FMGE three times a year instead of twice. A failed attempt therefore costs you a few months, not half a year. That matters for planning, but it is not a reason to sit unprepared. Our post on FMGE October 2026 dates, fee and the new rule has the full session timeline.

How do you turn the FMGE syllabus into a study plan?

Start from the marks, not from the textbook order. Here is a plan that works whether you have three months or three weeks; only the length of each step changes.

1. Print the blueprint table. Next to each subject, write how confident you are: strong, average or weak. Be honest. This is your map of the FMGE syllabus.
2. Fix the big four first. Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Community Medicine get the first and largest block of time, because they hold 125 marks.
3. Learn the Indian parts fresh. Community Medicine and Forensic Medicine need India specific content. Give them their own slot instead of hoping your European notes cover them.
4. Revise the pre and para clinical block in one pass. Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry carry 17 marks each. Pathology, Microbiology and Pharmacology carry 13 each. Revise them together, since they explain each other.
5. Cap the small subjects. Give each 5 mark subject a fixed, short slot and stop when it ends.
6. Switch to timed questions early. Work in 50 question blocks with 50 minutes each, the section format the bulletin describes, and track your score per subject.
7. Rehearse the full day once. Sit two 150 question parts with a break in between. Stamina is part of the test.
8. Re-weight every week. Move hours from subjects where your practice score is steady to those where it isn't.

A fixed daily routine helps more than long weekend sessions. NEETsheet's study timetable guide was written for NEET, but the idea of fixed blocks and planned revision days works for the FMGE syllabus too.

What if you only have three weeks before 31 October 2026?

Three weeks is enough to move a borderline score over 150. It is not enough to learn the whole FMGE syllabus from the start, so don't try.

Spend most of the time on timed questions in the big four and on Community Medicine, because they hold the most marks. Use your error log to pick topics; each wrong answer tells you what to revise next. Keep the small subjects to quick revision of the basics. And protect the fixed dates: NBEMS issues admit cards on 27 October 2026, and the result is due by 30 November 2026.

Answer every question on the day. With no negative marking, a guess can only add marks.

How does studying MBBS in Europe line up with the FMGE syllabus?

The subjects themselves are the same medicine everywhere. Anatomy, Pathology, Medicine and Surgery don't change at a border. What differs is order, emphasis and the Indian specific content.

The NMC's FMGL Regulations 2021 already require that a foreign degree include hands on clinical training in subjects such as Community Medicine, General Medicine, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, General Surgery, Anaesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, ENT, Ophthalmology and Dermatology. That list overlaps heavily with the clinical block of the FMGE syllabus. So an English medium course at a European university covers most of the ground. You then add the Indian layer.

Our guide to the MBBS syllabus in Europe shows how European courses are built year by year. The internship after MBBS in Europe explains the clinical year the NMC asks for. A good habit for students abroad: from the clinical years on, keep a short note per subject of what India does differently, so you are not starting from zero when you prepare for the FMGE.

Which mistakes cost candidates FMGE marks?

The same few habits come up again and again:

• Studying in textbook order. Spending equal weeks on Anatomy and Radiotherapy ignores a 17 to 5 gap in marks.
• Treating Community Medicine as easy. It is 30 marks of mostly India specific content.
• Practising without the clock. Sections lock, so untimed practice gives you a false sense of speed.
• Leaving answers blank. There is no negative marking.
• Planning around NExT rumours. The FMGE is the test today. Our explainer on NExT and where it stands covers what is and isn't decided.

Before you start

The FMGE syllabus looks huge until you read the blueprint. Then it is 20 subjects with fixed weights, four of which hold 125 marks, and a pass mark of 150 with no negative marking. Plan by those numbers, practise against the clock, and give the Indian parts of the course their own time. Passing then opens the next step: medical registration in India after MBBS in Europe, and later a career that NEETsheet compares in its look at doctor salaries in India.

Sources

• National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), FMGE October 2026 Information Bulletin v2.2 (clauses 2.1, 5, 12.1 and 12.2; important dates), read on 9 October 2026: nbe.edu.in
• NBEMS, FMGE examination page, read on 9 October 2026: natboard.edu.in
• National Medical Commission, Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 (Regulation 4 and Schedule I), read on 9 October 2026: nmc.org.in