NEW DELHI: With over 2.2 million candidates scheduled to appear for the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam on June 21, authorities will conduct a day-long nationwide exercise on Saturday to test security arrangements and coordination mechanisms ahead of the high-stakes exam, officials said.
The exercise, scheduled to be held from 9am to 8pm, will simulate the entire examination cycle – from dispatching question papers and handling at the center level to collecting and securely transporting answer papers after the examination. More than 250,000 individuals across the country are expected to participate in the training.
“It is a routine exercise ahead of large-scale NTA exams. The nationwide mock exercises are aimed at assessing preparedness, inter-agency coordination and effectiveness of security measures ahead of the exam,” a senior education ministry official said.
According to officials, the exercise will include district administrations, police forces, escort teams and personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which will oversee the guarding and security of confidential screening materials. More than 5,000 examination centers will remain under CCTV and security surveillance during the actual examination.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the re-test of NEET-UG in one shift from 2 pm to 5.15 pm on June 21 in pen and paper mode across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. NEET-UG qualification is mandatory for admission to MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses.
More than 200,000 individuals were mobilized for the exam, including 674 city coordinators, 6,669 observers, center supervisors and invigilators, along with district administration officials, police personnel and escort teams. The Indian Air Force (IAF) and CAPFs have also been engaged to assist in the safe transportation and protection of question papers and answer sheets.
NEET-UG 2026, originally conducted on May 3, was canceled on May 12 following allegations of paper leakage and allegations of overlap between the alleged guess paper and the actual question paper. More than 2.2 million candidates took the exam.
