New Delhi: Over 20 lakh medical aspirants took a second shot at the NEET (UG) examination on Sunday after the original test was cancelled due to paper leaks, an issue that became a hot potato for the government and also triggered a popular protest movement.
Abhishek Singh, the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has been receiving flak following the paper leak row, said the whole-of-government approach helped it to conduct the mammoth exercise in record time.
In a statement, NTA said more than 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination across 5,440 centres in India and 14 centres abroad. The exam was conducted in 13 languages, including Hindi and English.
“This was not the NTA acting alone. It was Team Bharat – a chain of people across the country who showed up so that, for each candidate, the only thing that mattered that morning was the paper in front of them,” the agency said.
“In all, around 7 lakh officials – police teams, observers and examination staff – were mobilised across India to conduct this examination, and it was done in a record 37 days. NTA is especially grateful to the experts from academic institutions across the country who gave their personal time to help prepare multiple sets of question papers,” the NTA said.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed arrangements for the smooth conduct of the re-examination at the NTA headquarters in Delhi’s Okhla.
“NTA apprised the minister of the logistical and technical arrangements put in place for the efficient and transparent conduct of the examination,” the Ministry of Education said.
The NTA said extensive arrangements were made for all candidates, including more than 10,000 Persons with Disabilities.
“Special arrangements were put in place for around 81 candidates with medical conditions, among them a child who had been in a road accident, and a child undergoing chemotherapy, who were determined not to miss an exam they had prepared for years,” it said.
The agency said Aadhaar-based biometric and face authentication, CCTV surveillance, jammers and two-layer frisking with the support of state police were deployed at examination centres.
“Command and control centres for CCTV monitoring were established at the national level – at the NTA and at the Ministry of Education, at 34 Centrally Funded Institutions of the Department of Higher Education, in every State, and at District Collectorates,” it said.
“There were some minor reports regarding people coming with wrong admit cards, people coming with some forged admit cards at a few places; impersonation cases were also found out,” NTA DG Abhishek Singh said.
“At a few places, somebody was trying to take a mobile phone; action has been taken on that because that’s the purpose of putting frisking, when you put CCTV cameras, when you put handheld metal detectors, to not allow any unfair means… and there were a few people who were trying to do that, but they were not able to,” he said.
While a probe is underway into the alleged paper leak, the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party led by Abhijeet Dipke, which started as an online campaign, has been holding protests in the country, demanding the education minister’s resignation over the alleged examination irregularities.
The NTA said the conduct of the examination drew on the support of CAPF, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Department of Posts, the Indian Air Force, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NIC, MeitY, the Department of Financial Services, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education and banking partners — SBI, Canara Bank, PNB and UCO Bank– alongside state governments and many other stakeholders.
It said several state governments made arrangements for students and parents – shade, water and food at centres, ambulances and medical facilities on standby, and free transportation for candidates on exam day in some places.
In Madhya Pradesh, a candidate told PTI Videos after appearing for the re-exam that the paper was “good and the arrangements this time were much better”.
“While it felt unusual to have to take the exam again, there was also a sense of confidence and hope as the re-test offered another chance of selection,” the aspirant said.
Another candidate said, “The paper was very lengthy and tougher than expected. My previous attempt was okay, but this time it did not go as well.”
“Physics was a little difficult; apart from that, it was easy. … We got more time to read and solve problems, so it helped me improve,” the aspirant said while leaving the examination centre in Bengaluru.
In Kolkata, an injured candidate was allowed a separate room at the examination centre, along with medical support and a standby ambulance. The candidate, Shrishti Dubey, suffered severe injuries in a road accident on June 14 and sought assistance from the authorities to make special arrangements.
Pradhan personally spoke to the aspirant’s parents, who conveyed their gratitude for the assistance provided by the NTA and the authorities.
However, some aspirants and their families flagged difficulties in commuting to the examination centres.
In Bhopal, two students were denied entry to the centre after arriving late. Amir Qadri, uncle of one of the aspirants, said, “I have come here with my nephew for his examination. While on our way to the examination centre, we met with an accident and got a bit late, since my nephew received first aid. Now that we have reached here, we are being denied entry. The authorities are saying the exam has already begun and that it won’t be possible to permit us entry.”
Heavy rains lashed Kolkata and its adjoining areas, triggering severe waterlogging in several parts of the city and disrupting traffic movement. The showers caused difficulties for commuters, including NEET aspirants travelling to centres for the re-test.
In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) arranged special bus services for students appearing in the re-examination amid the ongoing strike by its employees.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, nearly 180 bus trips were planned during the day, with 60 buses deployed on 24 routes to facilitate travel to 63 examination centres across the city.
In Delhi, PM Narendra Modi delayed his travel to his residence after arriving at IGI airport from Kolkata to ensure NEET re-exam candidates did not face inconvenience due to traffic restrictions.
A candidate in Delhi, Kishan, said security arrangements were tighter this time than during the earlier test. “A lot has happened over the past month….I only hope the exam is conducted fairly,” he told PTI Videos.
Another NEET-UG candidate, Sonia, also noted that security was tighter this time.
“If such security arrangements had been in place the last time, the chances of a paper leak would have been lower, and students would not have had to face so much trouble,” she said.
According to a media report, a NEET aspirant, Kulsum Bano, wearing a burqa, alleged that she was denied entry to an examination centre in Rajasthan’s Ajmer.
“When I took the exam on May 3, I was in the same attire then as I am now, wearing a burqa and a dupatta. Initially, they said I would have to remove the dupatta to enter; then they insisted I had to remove the burqa as well,” she said before the exam started.
“If the NTA has permitted us, these people cannot stop us… If I am to take the exam and they don’t allow me in this attire, then I simply won’t take it,” she said. “The exam doesn’t matter to me; what matters is my ‘burqa’ and my identity,” she asserted.
The NTA later clarified that the aspirant was allowed entry to the centre.
In Ahmedabad, a brief commotion was reported outside an exam centre after some parents objected to students being asked to remove ‘kanthi’ (Hindu sacred threads) during frisking while girls wearing hijab were allowed inside, police said.
The issue was later resolved after police explained the NTA dress code guidelines to the parents and members of the groups that had gathered outside the centre.
Nearly 79,400 aspirants appeared for the re-examination at 211 centres across Gujarat, where the state police deployed drones and additional personnel at the centres.
