In anticipation of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday applauded the Center's decision to temporarily prohibit Telegram in India, characterising the action as an essential effort to reduce examination-related fraud and misinformation.
In response to the agency's recommendations, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered a temporary ban on Telegram access in India until June 22, according to an NTA statement. Additionally, the site has been directed by the government to deactivate its message-editing capability in India until June 30.
According to the NTA, the actions were taken to stop organised cheating networks from using the site to deceive students taking the medical entrance test and disseminate inaccurate allegations of question paper leaks.

Reasons for Examining Telegram's Editing Function
After investigations, the agency claimed that Telegram's message-editing feature had been exploited to fabricate false "paper leak" evidence. After an exam was over, channel admins could alter older posts and substitute attachments with question papers while keeping the original timestamp, according to NTA. These modified posts were subsequently shared as evidence that exam papers had been pre-leaked.
According to officials, temporarily turning off the feature will assist stop the production and dissemination of such fake evidence during the post-examination phase.
Taking Action Against Fraud Networks
The Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) was acknowledged by the NTA for organising efforts to combat fraud and disinformation activities using Telegram.According to the agency, a number of Telegram groups, channels, and bots that promoted fictitious NEET question paper claims have previously been removed.

The message also emphasised recent state agency enforcement initiatives. While the Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch reportedly detained members of an interstate cyber fraud gang allegedly running various Telegram channels, Bihar Police issued a public advisory cautioning students against false promises of access to test materials. According to investigators, the network contacted about 1,000 mobile numbers and processed transactions totalling almost Rs 1.5 crore in a single month.
Students Are Advised Not to Believe "Paper Leak" Allegations
The NTA cautioned applicants against falling for claims made on social media and messaging platforms and reaffirmed that there is no NEET question paper available outside of the safe examination process.In exchange for alleged access to the re-examination paper, multiple Telegram channels allegedly sought fees ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees. All of these proposals were deemed fake by the agency.
Temporary Action, NTA Says
The NTA acknowledged the inconvenience to authorised users and stated that the access restriction is only in place for the examination period and will expire on June 22. The agency further stated that users' capacity to send and receive new messages will not be impacted by the temporary suspension of the message-editing feature.
The NTA reassured students that the exam's security and integrity would not be compromised and emphasised that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will take place on June 21 as planned.

Candidates have been instructed to report any fraudulent attempts to cybercrime authorities right away and to rely solely on official NTA communications and the agency's website for examination-related updates.