The National Medical Commission (NMC) has granted one-time relief to eligible medical students who have been unable to clear their First Professional MBBS examination, allowing them an additional attempt and increasing the maximum number of attempts from four to five.The decision provides a one-time transitional relaxation to students admitted from the 2019-20 academic year onwards whose cases remain pending in view of exceptional circumstances, including disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Under the decision, eligible students will be permitted one additional attempt over and above the prescribed four attempts to pass the First Professional MBBS examination. The relaxation will also apply to students who have already crossed the prescribed four-year period for completing the first professional course.However, the relief is subject to specific conditions. Students must have valid admissions, which must not have been cancelled by the concerned university or college.The Commission has clarified that students who have already availed themselves of an additional mercy attempt under an earlier NMC decision or pursuant to a court order, thereby exhausting five attempts, will not be eligible for another attempt under the latest decision. The relaxation will not permit a sixth attempt.The NMC has also capped the overall duration for completing the MBBS course, including the applicable period of Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI), at 10 years from the date of admission. The additional attempt will not extend this maximum duration.The Commission said the relaxation was a one-time transitional measure intended to provide relief to eligible students whose cases were pending before it. It would not be treated as a retrospective application of the amended regulatory provisions governing the permissible number of attempts or serve as a precedent for subsequent academic batches.The decision follows representations from students, universities and other stakeholders seeking an additional opportunity to clear the examination in view of exceptional circumstances.