New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 16 welcomed the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram in India ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21, stating that the move was necessary to curb examination-related fraud and misinformation.
Telegram access restricted in India for re- NEET following recommendations of NTA
"Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued notification a direction under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in… pic.twitter.com/3TzJepOoej
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2026
In a statement, the NTA said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had ordered a temporary restriction on Telegram services in India until June 22, covering the examination period and the days immediately following it. The ministry has also directed the platform to disable its message-editing feature in the country until June 30.
According to the agency, the decision was prompted by the organised misuse of Telegram by fraud networks that allegedly targeted NEET candidates with false promises of access to examination papers. The NTA said several Telegram channels had sought money from students and their families in exchange for purported access to the re-examination question paper, despite having no such access.
The agency further explained that disabling Telegram’s message-editing feature would help prevent the fabrication of fake “paper leak” evidence, as users would otherwise be able to modify old messages while retaining their original timestamps.
While acknowledging that the restrictions may inconvenience genuine Telegram users, the NTA said the measures are temporary and aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the examination process. It reiterated that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will be conducted as scheduled on June 21 and advised candidates to rely exclusively on official NTA communications for authentic information and updates.
The agency also expressed gratitude to MeitY, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and state police forces for their efforts in combating examination-related fraud and protecting students from online scams.
