Union Education Minister Pradhan orders foolproof NEET 2026 re-exam conduct
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently reviewed preparations for the forthcoming NEET 2026 re-examination.
Pradhan earlier announced that the NEET-UG re-examination would be held on June 21.
According to PTI report, the Minister has directed officials to ensure its conduct in a "secure, seamless and foolproof manner" under strict security protocols, officials said.
During chairing the review meeting, Pradhan stressed that all gaps identified in the earlier examination process must be comprehensively addressed and eliminated to ensure complete integrity and transparency in the conduct of the examination, they said.
"The minister emphasised that the Re-NEET examination must be conducted in a secure, seamless and foolproof manner under stringent security protocols," the officials said.
The minister directed authorities to hold coordination meetings with district magistrates and superintendents of police across states to ensure robust monitoring and effective implementation of examination arrangements.
Underscoring that vigilance and security at examination centres must remain uncompromised, Pradhan also instructed officials to ensure adequate arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and other essential facilities, they added.
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NEET cancelled
The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.
However, the NTA on May 12, 2026, declared the cancellation of the examination held on May 3 and subsequently announced the re-examination on June 21, 2026.
The following decision triggered anxiety and anger among lakhs of medical aspirants across the country, many of whom said they were feeling shocked, stressed and uncertain about their future. While some aspirants supported the decision to cancel the examination in the interest of fairness, others said that they are being forced to suffer because of the actions of a few people.
The NTA had further informed that the Government of India decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations after it declared to re-conduct the NEET UG 2026 examination soon. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case.
This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.
The investigation found that the leaked papers were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the NEET UG 2026 examination held on May 3. According to reports, the matter came to light after a Sikar-based MBBS student studying at a medical college in Kerala allegedly shared a PDF of a “guess paper” with his father on May 2. The father, who runs a PG accommodation facility in Sikar, reportedly circulated the document further to a chemistry and a biology teacher who identified the similarities in questions.
As the investigation widened, Rajasthan SOG and later the CBI uncovered what officials described as a multi-state network involving students, coaching-linked persons and middlemen. The alleged leak reportedly spread from Kerala and Rajasthan to Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and other states.
Seeking action, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors' Network (IMA-JDN) and United Doctors' Front (UDF) filed separate petitions before the Supreme Court demanding the replacement of NTA and strict action against the repeated paper leak incidents.
The issue also led to massive protests and condemnation by the medical fraternity, who blamed the NTA and the government for failing to prevent another paper leak controversy in 2026. They have criticised the authorities for playing with the future of over 22 lakh aspirants who appeared for the exam and are again forced to re-appear.
