Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Friday that, starting next year, the National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode, replacing the current pen-and-paper test (PPT) format in which candidates mark their answers on Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.
In his first remarks after the NTA annulled the May 3 NEET-UG 2026 exam on May 12 due to alleged question paper leaks, Pradhan announced that candidates will be given an additional 15 minutes to complete the NEET re-examination scheduled for June 21.He added that the government is accepting responsibility for a “breach in command,” even though it had implemented the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan committee a seven-member panel formed after the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak controversy to strengthen the NTA.
Pradhan stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will conduct an in-depth probe into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case and that no one involved will be spared this time, just as no one was spared previously.“Despite implementation of Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations, this incident occurred. The fundamental reason for this issue is the use of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) for the examination. Starting next year, the NEET exam will be conducted in CBT (Computer-Based Test) mode,” Pradhan stated during a press conference at his residence.
In October 2024, the Radhakrishnan committee strongly advocated shifting NEET-UG to a computer-based format, calling it the most reliable solution to prevent question paper leaks.On Thursday, NTA director general Abhishek Singh told media, “We will hold the exam in CBT mode if the health ministry formally informs us in writing that they want it conducted that way. It would require about 20 shifts to accommodate roughly 2.2 million NEET candidates, and we would need to implement a normalisation process to maintain fairness for all students,” he said.
On May 12, the NTA annulled the NEET-UG 2026 examination after it was discovered that at least 120 questions in a so-called “guess paper” matched those in the May 3 test paper.Guess paper is a compilation of probable questions prepared by subject experts and teachers based on previous examination trends.
The decision has impacted over 2.2 million students who have been preparing for the exams for months, if not years. NEET NTA will refund the examination fee to students and conduct the re-examination on June 21.
Pradhan announced that the admit cards for the NEET re-examination will be issued by June 14, and candidates will receive an additional 15 minutes for the test scheduled on June 21.
He noted that another issue raised concerned exam formalities, such as requiring students to sign the OMR sheet at both the start and the end of the test, which was cutting into their actual answering time. Given that the exam runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the NTA has therefore decided to extend the duration by 15 minutes.When questioned about potential vulnerabilities in examination security measures due to International Yoga Day on June 21, Pradhan stated that Yoga Day activities would take place in the morning while the exams were scheduled for noon, adding that the date had been set after careful deliberation.
The CBI informed a Delhi court on Thursday that the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak originated from an insider within the NTA. The court documented this assertion in its order, stating that Shubham Khairnar received the paper from an individual based in Pune, who had allegedly obtained it from his 'NTA source'.
CBI has arrested seven persons in the matter so far.
Responding to questions about the involvement of NTA insiders in the paper leak, Pradhan said that the CBI will conduct a thorough investigation into the issue. He added that the CBI is a reliable agency and will handle the probe efficiently.
At least two NEET-UG 2026 candidates one from Goa and another from Uttar Pradesh died by suicide following the cancellation of the exam.I am at a loss for words to describe the tragedy of these precious lives lost. It is our duty to ensure that such incidents never happen again in the future,