WebinarsNew
Explore Business Standard
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday announced a series of student-friendly measures for NEET (UG) 2026, including additional rough-work space, and an extended examination window. The medical entrance examination is scheduled to be held on June 21. According to the NTA, the examination will be conducted from 2 pm to 5:15 pm, providing a total window of 195 minutes. The duration of the examination has been extended by 15 minutes. "This window is designed to accommodate the invigilation formalities at the start and end of the examination, such as the signing requirements, which candidates earlier felt reduced their effective working time," the agency said. The NTA has also doubled the number of pages provided for rough work in the question-paper booklet from two to four pages, giving candidates additional space for calculations and reasoning. "Candidates may preferably use the rough-work pages provided at the beginning and at the end of the booklet for this purpose," it said.
A Parliamentary panel has asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to define what constitutes a "paper leak" in its definition and whether any paper leaks have occurred in exams it conducted since 2018, sources said. The panel's questionnaire follows NTA officials' appearance before it last week, where they contended that there was no paper leak from their system, claiming that some questions from a guess paper were in circulation, sources said. The Parliamentary Committee for Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Congress member Digvijaya Singh, is investigating the NEET paper leak issue and the CBSE on-screen marking system (OSM) row, having summoned top government officials including those from the NTA and CBSE. The committee has sought written answers from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the NTA on the issues of OSM system and the NEET exam, respectively. The panel asked the NTA whether it conducted any inquiry into the allegations of ...
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday dismissed as "false" and "fraudulent" claims circulating on social media about alleged leak or sale of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination question paper and warned of strict action against those spreading such content. In a statement on X, the agency said messages claiming a "leak", advance access or "sale" of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination paper were aimed at misleading students and parents. "The National Testing Agency (NTA) has noted certain messages circulating on social media and messaging platforms claiming a 'leak', advance access or 'sale' of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination question paper," the NTA said in a post on X. "These claims are false, fraudulent and intended to mislead," the NTA said, adding that such content was being circulated by "organised cheating rackets" seeking to exploit the anxiety of candidates and their families by selling fake question papers. "Such content is the work of organised cheating rackets that pre
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday announced that the CUET-UG 2026 examination affected by a technical glitch on May 30 will now be reconducted on June 6 and 7. The agency also released updated admit cards for the affected candidates, which can be downloaded from the official CUET portal. "Updated Admit Cards are now available for affected CUET (UG) 2026 candidates. The revised examination dates are 06 and 07 June 2026. Candidates may download their admit cards from the official portal," the NTA said on X. The NTA had earlier said that 3,765 CUET (UG) candidates who left their examination centres after a technical glitch delayed the start of Shift 1 of the test on May 30 will be given a one-time opportunity to reappear for the entrance exam for undergraduate admissions. The CUET-UG is a standardised, national-level entrance exam conducted by the NTA for admissions into undergraduate degree programmes across central, state and select private universities. Since its ...
More than 3,700 CUET (UG) 2026 candidates who left their examination centres after a technical glitch delayed the start of Shift 1 of the test on Saturday will be given a one-time opportunity to reappear for the entrance exam for undergraduate admissions, the National Testing Agency said. Following the disruption, examination timings were revised at the affected centres and "most candidates (about 95 per cent) were able to complete their exam once it resumed", the National Testing Agency (NTA) said. "Most candidates were able to complete their exam once it resumed. We understand that 3,765 candidates who were present and had completed biometric registration chose to leave before the exam could restart," the NTA said on X. "For these candidates, NTA will hold a rescheduled examination as a one-time measure," it added. The new date and details will be announced separately, the agency said. It also said that the technical service provider, TCS iON, "has been asked to conduct a root-c
The CUET-UG 2026 for admissions into undergraduate degree programmes across India was delayed at some centres on Saturday due to a technical glitch, the National Testing Agency said. The issue has since been resolved and the examination is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said. "TCS has reported that a technical glitch at their end delayed the commencement of CUET UG 2026 at some centres on Saturday. The issue has since been resolved, and the exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged," the NTA said on X. "Afternoon session timing (revised): Reporting/entry from 2:30 pm; examination begins at 4:00 pm instead of 3:00 pm," the NTA said. Morning session candidates are being given the full duration of the paper and are allowed to exit only after completion of the test. "NTA sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to students and parents," the agency ...
The National Testing Agency on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is all set to conduct NEET-UG in the computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year instead of the pen and paper mode after consulting the Centre. The National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), made the statement before the apex court, which is hearing a batch of petitions related to the sensational paper "leak" this year that led to the cancellation of the May 3 exam. In an affidavit filed before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, the NTA said a high-level committee of experts (HLCE) has recommended transition of NEET-UG to the CBT mode. It said that among the major NTA examinations, only NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted in the pen and paper (PPT) mode, primarily according to the scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission. It said all other major NTA examinations are already conducted in the C
Amid uncertainty over this year's NEET exam following alleged irregularities and the subsequent cancelleation of the test, medical aspirants are turning to engineering courses, with enrolment for Tamil Nadu engineering admissions crossing 2.5 lakh. Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) is a completely online, single-window counseling process conducted by Anna University for admission to undergraduate B.E. and B.Tech. courses in the State, based solely on Class 12 marks without an entrance exam. According to sources in the Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE), the online registration has started from May 3. "Within a span of 26 days, the number of applications have crossed 2.5 lakh and it is expected to touch three lakh", a senior official from DOTE said on Friday. Noting that NEET irregularities have delayed medical counselling, he said, "due to this, there is a notable shift with many medical aspirants choosing engineering admissions". He added that the delay in medical .
The National Testing Agency has extended till June 22 the deadline for submitting bank account details for refund of examination fee for candidates of NEET-UG 2026, which was cancelled and would be held afresh amid allegations of paper leak. While announcing the re-examination of NEET-UG 2026 on June 21, the NTA had said no examination fee would be charged from candidates for the fresh test. The NTA had also said fees already paid by students will be refunded. In continuation of the public notices dated May 12 and May 22, the NTA had provided a facility on the NEET (UG)-2026 registration portal for submission of preferred bank account details for processing of fee refund from May 22 to May 26 (till 11:50 PM). In a notice shared on X on Wednesday, the NTA said so far around 13 lakh candidates have updated their bank account details. The agency said the extension has been granted to facilitate candidates who are yet to submit their details. The agency said, "In order to facilitate .
The National Testing Agency has released revised examination dates and admit cards for the Common University Entrance Test 2026 for admissions in undergraduate programmes that were rescheduled from May 28 owing to Eid-ul-Azha. According to the National Testing Agency (NTA), the examinations will now be conducted on May 31, June 6 and June 7. The NTA said that admit cards for candidates appearing for the test on May 31 have been released and they can be downloaded from the official website cuet.nta.nic.in. The admit cards for June 6 and 7 will be released soon, the agency said. "Stay updated by checking the official website regularly," the NTA said. The Common University Entrance Test-UG (CUET-UG) was introduced in 2022 to standardise admissions across Central, state, and select private universities in the country. Replacing multiple entrance tests, CUET-UG aims to provide a uniform assessment platform to evaluate candidates on language skills, domain-specific subjects and genera
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday opened a dedicated portal for NEET-UG 2026 candidates to submit their bank account details for refund of examination fees after the entrance exam was cancelled earlier this month. In a public notice, the agency said candidates can log in to the NEET-UG 2026 registration portal using their credentials and access the refund link to submit preferred bank account details for processing of fee refunds. "In continuation of the Public Notice dated 12.05.2026 regarding refund of examination fee for NEET (UG)-2026 candidates, the National Testing Agency hereby informs all candidates that a dedicated facility has been made available on the NEET (UG)-2026 registration portal for submission of preferred bank account details for processing of fee refund," the notice said. "The facility for submission of bank account details shall remain live from 22 May 2026 to 27 May 2026 (up to 11:50 PM)," the notice said. Candidates have been asked to provide detai
The Centre on Saturday appointed two each joint secretaries and joint directors in the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is under the heat over the NEET-UG paper leak. Anuja Bapat, a 1998-batch officer of Indian Statistical Service, and Ruchita Vij, a 2004-batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes), will be new joint secretaries in the NTA for five years, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. Akash Jain, an Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer, and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya, and Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer, have been named joint directors in the NTA, the ministry said in a separate order. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case and formed teams to probe the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA across the country.