New Delhi: The NEET UG examination will be held in a fully computerised format from 2027, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday, while defending the government’s decision to reschedule this year’s exam.
Stating that NEET UG 2026 will be held afresh on June 21, the minister said the Centre has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy against examination malpractice and asserted that no deserving candidate would lose an opportunity because of the “education mafia”.
NEET UG 2026 that was held on May 3 was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 12 after reports emerged that portions of the paper had allegedly been leaked before the exam. The agency later confirmed that it had received information regarding a “guess paper” on May 7 that reportedly contained actual questions from the test.
Within “three to four days” authorities were able to verify that questions had indeed been compromised, Dharmendra said.
“We admit that there was a breach somewhere in the chain of command despite implementing the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations, and we take responsibility to fix this,” the minister said during the briefing.
The government had no option but to cancel the examination in order to preserve fairness and credibility in the admission process, he added.
“We will not allow a moneybag to take anybody’s seat away. We are sad and worried about this unfortunate incident, but we had to take this difficult step. Our responsibility is to ensure there are zero errors,” Dharmendra said while stressing that the government would not compromise with integrity in competitive examinations.
Computerisation is aimed at reducing the possibility of leaks and strengthening the overall security architecture of one of India’s largest entrance examinations.
The alleged paper leak case has now been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which will investigate how the breach occurred “despite implementing the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations”, the minister said.
The government is engaged in a “long fight against exam-related mafia”, Dharmendra said while assuring students that authorities would ensure there are “no malpractices this time” during the re-conducted examination.
“A wrong candidate through the education mafia cannot steal the rights of another,” he said, reiterating that protecting honest aspirants remains the government’s top priority. “Our policy is of zero tolerance,” he added.
Candidates will be given a one-week window to select the city where they want to sit for the fresh exam, following which revised admit cards will be issued by July 14. They will also be allowed 15-minute extra time. Detailed guidelines are also expected to be issued shortly on the agency’s official portals.
