Following the latest leak controversy, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said the government was considering reforms, an assertion that comes days before the NEET-UG re-examination.
“The government is very serious about this… Reforms are required, we are implementing them, but they cannot be implemented in a year. By next year, technology-based screening will be available,” Joshi said.
The remarks come amid an ongoing political controversy over the NEET-UG 2026 exam, after NTA officials informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee that the paper was not completely leaked and only certain questions appeared before the exam, according to sources.
According to sources, NTA DG Abhishek Singh and Higher Education Minister Vineet Joshi told the committee that many of the reforms recommended to strengthen the examination system have already been implemented, while work on the remaining measures was ongoing.
Read also | NTA plans age ban, tries to cap NEET-UG, claims it was not a ‘paper leak’
Officials confirmed that the alleged leak did not originate from the NTA system, and said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the circulation of leaked questions that led to the cancellation of the exam, according to sources.
They also defended the cancellation under the agency’s “zero tolerance” policy, noting that even a limited waiver of questions could undermine public confidence in competitive exams.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee also reviewed the measures being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future and discussed proposals to convert NEET-UG to a computer-based examination format from next year.
Political tensions continue over the NEET-UG 2026 controversy, leading to the cancellation of the exam held on May 3 in 551 cities in India and 14 international centres, with over 22 lakh candidates appearing.
The re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21 under enhanced security measures mandated by the Federal Ministry of Education. (that I)
