Amid unprecedented security, over 22 lakh aspirants are scheduled to take the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on Sunday (June 21, 2026) across 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) held on May 3 following allegations of paper leak.
The NTA has put in place comprehensive arrangements to ensure a fair, secure and candidate-friendly examination on Sunday, it stated in an official release on Saturday (June 20, 2026).
The test will be held at more than 95,000 examination rooms, each equipped with CCTV. A total of 1,38,560 CCTV cameras have been installed, with feeds monitored virtually at the national, State and Ministry levels. To secure the examination against electronic malpractice, 51,311 jammers have been deployed (17,054 by ECIL and 34,257 by BEL).
A nationwide mock drill was conducted on June 20 to verify all systems, including jammers, CCTV, and frisking arrangements.
A large number of personnel have been mobilised for examination-day duties. Each of the more than 95,000 examination rooms will have two invigilators, and every centre will have more than 10 additional examination staff. Candidate verification has been strengthened with the deployment of 38,795 frisking staff and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification. A centre systems officer has been deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor the CCTV feed and resolve any technical issue on the spot.
The NTA has deployed around 6,700 observers at the examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring the live CCTV footage centrally. The CCTV footage is additionally analysed using AI-based tools to flag anomalies, providing a multi-layered monitoring system.
There has been extensive mobilisation of the State and district administrations for the re-test. Paramilitary forces and the Indian Air Force are also involved in the exercise, apart from the police and postal departments. On average, around 40 to 50 security personnel will be deployed at each examination centre. Bank officials have been deployed at approximately 1,500 bank branches holding the confidential examination material, and the Department of Posts will coordinate its teams for the collection of OMR sheets from around 700 collection centres across the country.
In coordination with the State governments, students will be provided drinking water and ORS at the centres. Shaded waiting areas have been arranged for accompanying parents. Ambulances have been deployed at the centres. For candidates, additional measures include a wall clock in every room, additional rough-work pages (with pages provided at the beginning of the booklet for the convenience of left-handed candidates), and an extended examination window to offset the time taken for entry formalities.
The examination is being conducted in English and 12 Indian languages.
The NTA is closely monitoring social media and is taking firm action against rumour-mongering and fraudulent “paper leak” claims. Candidates and parents are advised to rely solely on official communication from the NTA and to disregard unverified messages.
The NTA has appealed to all stakeholders to extend full support to the candidates and help reduce examination-day stress, so that the candidates can appear for the examination in a calm, secure, and supportive environment.
Published - June 20, 2026 10:13 pm IST
education / India / test/examination
Source: The Hindu - India News
