NTA cancels NEET-UG 2026 exam

• The National Testing Agency (NTA), with the approval of the government, cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3.

• There were allegations of paper leak.

• The government has decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations linked to the examination.

• The new dates for re-exam will be notified separately.

• National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) is conducted for admission to undergraduate medical education in all medical institutions.

• The NEET-UG 2026 examination was held on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. 

• The examination was organised by the NTA for nearly 23 lakh registered candidates at centres across the country.

What is the role of National Testing Agency (NTA)?

• The National Testing Agency (NTA) was set up as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions in the country.

• It was established following the approval of the Cabinet on November 10. 2017. 

• It was registered as a society on May 15, 2018 under the Societies Registration Act (1860). 

• It functions under the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education.

• To assess competence of candidates for admissions has always been a challenge in terms of matching with research based international standards, efficiency, transparency and error free delivery. 

• The NTA is entrusted to address all such issues using best in every field, from test preparation, to test delivery and to test marking

• The major examinations conducted by NTA include JEE (Main), Common University Entrance Test (CUET) (PG), NEET(UG), UGC-NET, CUET (UG) among others.

Functions of NTA:

i) To identify partner institutions with adequate infrastructure from the existing schools and higher education institutions which would facilitate conduct of online/offline examinations without adversely impacting their academic routine.

ii) To create a question bank for all subjects using the modern techniques

iii) To establish a strong R&D culture as well as a pool of experts in different aspects of testing.