NEW DELHI — In an unprecedented move to secure national examinations, the Union Government has implemented a temporary nationwide restriction on the messaging platform Telegram. The block, which went into effect following a formal request from the National Testing Agency (NTA), is scheduled to remain in place until June 22, 2026.
The proactive measure comes directly ahead of the highly anticipated NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for this weekend. According to senior NTA officials, the platform has recently been heavily exploited by organized cheating networks and paper-leak rackets to spread fabricated evidence, claim false leaks, and defraud medical aspirants.
While the NTA acknowledged that the ban may not be entirely foolproof against users utilizing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), officials emphasized that cutting off direct access will significantly collapse the open market for exam-related fraud and panic-mongering.
