New Delhi: The Central Government has banned access to the Telegram messaging service in India since June 22. This comes just days away from a re-examination of NEET-UG 2026, which is on June 21. The reason given for the decision is to prevent people from cheating, lodging false claims of any papers leaking, or spreading misinformation about the examination.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which organizes the NEET test, had, in the wake of multiple reports, asked the government to take tough action to curb the use of Telegram channels by cheating groups to mislead the NEET exam takers and spread wrong information about question papers being leaked. Officials say the temporary ban is provided to ensure a fair and transparent examination process.
One of India’s most significant medical entrance exams, NEET-UG, attracts lakhs of students annually. Due to evidence of the leak of the question paper in the original NEET-UG 2026 exam, this exam was canceled. After the cancellation and to prevent any irregularity in the operation of the cancellation, a fresh examination was announced on 21st June, and the government had drawn up more stringent security measures at the center.
Some Telegram channels were being investigated for allegedly selling fake question papers and making false promises to students, officials have said. The NTA had also on several occasions referred posts on social media and claims on Telegram, which were allegedly made by the group to its cybercrime authorities for verification during the past few weeks.
If Telegram can’t be used in the country, the government has reportedly requested the platform to disable some features and take action to remove material that can be used to spread misinformation in the exam period. The NTA has expressed its goodwill due to the Center’s action, as it will prevent students from being tricked into paying their examination fees and also avoid the spread of rumors regarding exams on the internet.
This latest temporary restriction will be in effect until June 22, the day after the re-examination. Government officials have emphasized that the move will not last long and is a precautionary step to ensure the integrity of the examination process.
As the re-exam gets ready to go on, the authorities have warned students and parents against relying on leaked papers or shortcuts to the exam. They have instructed candidates to only depend on the information they are provided by the NTA and other Government agencies. The officials are making all out efforts to conduct the NEET-UG examination properly and fairly throughout the country with the improvements in the security arrangements and the update in online platforms monitoring.
