The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday announced a series of student-friendly measures for the National Eligibility for Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026, including 15 extra minutes, more rough pages, and a redesigned booklet design.
The test duration has been extended to 195 minutes from the usual 180 minutes, with the test now running in pen-and-paper mode from 2pm to 5:15pm, the testing agency said in a notice dated June 12.
The revised timing includes mandatory procedures such as attendance recording and other monitoring procedures, allowing candidates to benefit from the full examination time without being interrupted by administrative processes.
In his first statement after the NTA canceled the May 12 NEET-UG 2026 (held on May 3) following allegations of paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on May 15 said that candidates will get an additional 15 minutes to write the NEET retest on June 21.
Read also: NEET-UG 2026 Retest: NTA releases city alert slips on June 21, here’s how to download
The agency has also increased the space available for rough work in the question booklet. Candidates will now receive four rough work pages instead of two, providing more space for calculations, graphs and other work during the exam.
In another change, two rough work pages have been moved to the beginning of the booklet, immediately after the instructions page, while two pages will remain available at the end.
Earlier, initial pages were only presented at the end, an arrangement that candidates, especially left-handed examinees, found less convenient, according to the agency.
The revised design has been incorporated into the English and regional language versions of the question paper.
“NTA believes that even small improvements in exam design can have a positive impact on candidates’ experience during a high-stakes exam,” the agency said, adding that the changes are intended to make the process more comfortable while maintaining standards of fairness and security.
The NTA said the changes were introduced after receiving feedback from candidates over the years.
NEET-UG is the only medical entrance test for admission to MBBS and other medical courses in UG.
The NTA canceled the NEET-UG 2026 exam on May 12, nine days after around 2.27 million candidates appeared for the exam. Investigators later found that questions arrived on some candidates’ phones as early as May 1, two days before the test. A new examination is scheduled for June 21.
