The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday backed the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21, saying the move was intended to curb misinformation and prevent candidates from being targeted by fraudsters.
In a statement, the agency said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had ordered a temporary restriction on Telegram services in India until June 22, covering the examination period and the days immediately following it. The ministry has also directed the platform to disable its message-editing feature in the country until June 30.
According to the NTA, the action followed reports that several organised groups were allegedly using Telegram to mislead students by claiming they had access to the NEET-UG re-examination paper. These groups were reportedly demanding money from candidates and their families in exchange for what the agency described as fake and fraudulent material.
The agency said the restriction on message editing was introduced to prevent the creation of fabricated evidence of paper leaks. It explained that edited messages could be altered while retaining their original timestamps, making it easier to falsely claim that examination content had been shared before the test.
While acknowledging that the temporary curbs may affect genuine users of the platform, the NTA said the measures were necessary to safeguard the integrity of the examination process and would remain in place only for a limited period.
The agency reiterated that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will be conducted as scheduled on June 21 and advised candidates to rely exclusively on official NTA communication channels for updates and information.
The NTA also expressed its gratitude to MeitY, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Central Bureau of Investigation and various state police departments for their support in tackling examination-related fraud and misinformation.
