In a move to combat exam-related fraud, the Central government has imposed a temporary ban on Telegram across India until June 22. This action follows recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and aims to prevent paper leaks and cheating networks ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed the restriction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This directive covers the examination day and its aftermath, with Telegram also required to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. The NTA highlighted that this feature has been misused in the past to create fake “paper leak” evidence.
The NTA emphasized that these measures were put in place to maintain public order and combat organized cheating activities. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs played a crucial role in coordinating efforts against fraud and misinformation targeting NEET candidates. State police forces and I4C worked together to remove Telegram channels and groups promoting fraudulent services.
The NTA clarified that the restrictions were enforced after other actions proved insufficient. Various Telegram channels were found demanding payments for exam paper access, with no papers actually leaked. The agency warned against fraudulent claims and assured that the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination will proceed as scheduled on June 21. Candidates were advised to rely on official NTA channels for updates and report any suspicious activities through the National Cyber Crime Helpline.
