Over 20 lakh aspirants, 7 lakh officials: NTA completes NEET 2026 retest
New Delhi: The National Testing Agency successfully conducted the NEET 2026 re-examination on June 21 for more than 20 lakh candidates across 5,440 examination centres in India and 14 centres abroad.
The examination, held in 13 languages including Hindi and English, was conducted under extensive security and monitoring arrangements following the cancellation of the earlier NEET-UG exam amid allegations of irregularities.
According to the NTA, the re-examination was completed through a large-scale coordinated effort involving multiple Central and State Government agencies, educational institutions and nearly seven lakh personnel, including police officials, observers and examination staff. Special arrangements were made for over 10,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and several candidates with serious medical conditions to ensure their participation in the examination.
"More than 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21 across 5,440 centres in India and 14 centres abroad, with the examination being conducted in 13 languages, including Hindi and English," an official release from National Testing Agency (NTA) said.
As per the NTA release, the successful conduct of the examination was the result of a coordinated effort involving multiple government agencies, institutions and personnel across the country.
The NTA said extensive arrangements were made for all candidates, including more than 10,000 Persons with Disabilities. Special provisions were also made for around 81 candidates with medical conditions, including a child recovering from a road accident and another undergoing chemotherapy, to ensure they could appear for the examination.
"More than 10,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 81 candidates with medical conditions were among the over 22 lakh aspirants who appeared for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination held across 5,440 centres in India and 14 overseas centres on Sunday," the National Testing Agency (NTA) said after the test concluded.
According to the NTA, special provisions were made for 81 candidates with medical conditions who were determined to appear for the examination despite health challenges. These included a candidate recovering from a road accident and another undergoing chemotherapy.
Drawing attention to one such case, the NTA in a post on X said that a NEET aspirant, Shrishti Dubey, who sustained nine fractured ribs and severe lung injuries in a road accident, was determined not to miss the re-examination.
After she underwent major vascular surgery and intensive treatment, her family approached the NTA seeking special arrangements, the agency said.
The NTA subsequently arranged a separate ground-floor examination room, medical support and a standby ambulance at the centre, enabling her to take the test while recovering.
To strengthen security and transparency, Aadhaar-based biometric and face authentication, CCTV monitoring, signal jammers and two-layer frisking with support from State Police were implemented at examination centres. Command and control centres for CCTV monitoring were established at the NTA headquarters, the Ministry of Education, 34 Centrally Funded Institutions under the Department of Higher Education, all States and District Collectorates.
The examination process received support from several agencies, including the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Posts, Indian Air Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education and banking partners such as SBI, Canara Bank, PNB and UCO Bank, along with State Governments and other stakeholders.
The NTA also highlighted the role of State Governments in facilitating the examination by arranging shade, drinking water and food for candidates and parents at centres, keeping ambulances and medical facilities on standby, and in many cases providing free transportation for candidates on exam day.
According to the agency, nearly seven lakh officials, including police personnel, observers and examination staff, were mobilised across the country to conduct the examination, which was organised within a record 37 days.
The NTA further expressed gratitude to experts from academic institutions across India who contributed their time and expertise towards preparing multiple sets of question papers for the examination.
