The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday conducted a nationwide mock drill as part of preparations for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.
The exercise, which began at 9 a.m., will continue through the day. More than 2.5 lakh security personnel are participating in the drill being carried out across examination centres nationwide.
Officials said all designated test centres have been brought under the NTA’s control. A three-layer security arrangement will be in place at every centre to prevent malpractice and ensure the integrity of the examination process.
Under the security framework, paramilitary personnel will oversee the transportation, storage and protection of question papers and answer sheets. More than 5,000 examination centres across the country will remain under CCTV surveillance, supported by extensive deployment of security personnel.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict Telegram services ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The court observed that the government had followed due procedure while exercising its emergency blocking powers and that the restrictions were proportionate to the situation.
Rejecting a petition filed by Telegram FZ LLC against the blocking order issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Justice Tejas Karia held that the temporary suspension of the messaging platform until June 22 and the disabling of its message-editing feature until June 30 were justified in view of concerns related to the examination.
According to the Centre, Telegram had repeatedly been misused for examination-related fraud, with several channels allegedly involved in circulating fake NEET question papers and running related scams.
The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will be conducted on June 21 for over 22 lakh candidates following allegations of question paper leaks after the original examination held on May 3.
-IANS
