NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday reviewed preparations for the retake of the NEET-UG 2026 exam scheduled to be conducted on June 21 and directed officials to ensure that the exam is conducted in a “safe, smooth and secure manner” under strict security protocols, officials familiar with the matter said.
Pradhan, who chaired a high-level review meeting, stressed that all loopholes identified in the previous examination process “must be comprehensively addressed and eliminated” to ensure complete integrity and transparency, according to a Union Education Ministry statement.
“The Minister emphasized that the NEET re-examination must be conducted in a safe, smooth and secured manner under strict security protocols. Directions have also been issued to hold coordination meetings with district magistrates and superintendents of police across states to ensure robust monitoring and effective implementation,” the ministry said.
Pradhan also directed officials to ensure that vigil and security at examination centers “remains unabated” and asked them to make adequate arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and other basic facilities.
The meeting was attended by Secretary (Higher Education) Vineet Joshi, Secretary (School Education) Sanjay Kumar, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh, CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh, among other senior officials.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled the NEET-UG 2026 exam on May 12 after at least 120 questions in the ‘guess paper’ overlapped with the May 3 exam, affecting over 2.2 million students.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged leak, has arrested 10 people so far, including Professor Shivraj Raghunath Motigaonkar, founder of a coaching center in Latur; retired chemistry lecturer P V Kulkarni; and Pune-based biology teacher Manisha Gurunath Mandhari. Kulkarni and Mandhare were part of NTA’s expert panel for NEET-UG 2026.
A Delhi court on May 14 recorded the CBI’s statement that the leak was due to an “NTA source”.
An NTA official, requesting anonymity, said the investigating agency was given “freedom” to act against all those involved. “We have given the agency a free hand and asked it to arrest all those involved, no matter how big or small they are. Our immediate focus is preparations for the re-examination on June 21,” the official told HT.
Asked about the changes in the examination process, another official said details could not be revealed. “These are confidential details. We don’t want the exam mafia to know any information that they can misuse. Paper leakage is an organized crime and we have to be really careful,” the official said.
The Center on May 16 appointed joint secretaries and joint directors to strengthen the leadership of NTA.
Pradhan had earlier announced that the medical entrance exam will be computer-based from next year onwards in view of the violations associated with it.
Evaluation mission
