New Delhi, June 16 (HS): The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday said that access to the Telegram messaging platform has been restricted in India until June 22 in connection with measures aimed at ensuring the integrity of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.

In a statement, the NTA said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the platform during the examination period.

The agency also said Telegram had been directed to disable its message-editing feature for existing messages until June 30. According to the NTA, the feature had allegedly been misused in the past to create misleading claims of examination paper leaks by altering messages after examinations had been conducted while retaining original timestamps.

The NTA said the measures were taken in the interest of maintaining a fair and secure examination process and preventing fraud targeting candidates appearing for the re-examination.

According to the agency, several Telegram channels were allegedly offering purported access to examination papers in exchange for money. The NTA reiterated that no examination paper had been leaked and cautioned candidates against relying on unverified claims circulating on social media and messaging platforms.

The agency said the action followed consultations with various enforcement and cybercrime agencies. It also acknowledged the inconvenience caused to legitimate users of the platform but maintained that the measures were necessary to safeguard the examination process.

The NTA advised candidates and parents to rely only on official channels for examination-related information and to report suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar