New Delhi, June 16 (IANS). The government has imposed a temporary ban on messaging app Telegram across India till June 22 in an aim to prevent exam-related fraud following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA). After the ban imposed by the government, Telegram app is no longer available on Google Play Store. Google has removed Telegram from the Play Store, due to which it is no longer possible to download it from the Play Store.
At the same time, the government has taken this step to stop the alleged paper leak, spread of misinformation and cheating network before the re-examination of NEET (UG) 2026 to be held on June 21.
According to a statement from NTA, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a directive under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, under which the use of Telegram in India has been restricted for a limited period till June 22. This restriction will remain in force on the day of the examination and immediately thereafter.
Additionally, Telegram has been directed to disable its message editing feature by June 30 in India.
NTA said both these measures have been implemented to maintain public order and to curb organized fraud gangs that had allegedly used the platform to defraud candidates appearing for the re-examination. The agency expressed its gratitude to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for its timely intervention aimed at ensuring a fair and secure examination process.
The agency also highlighted the role of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C), functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which has made coordinated efforts against Telegram-based fraud and misinformation targeting NEET aspirants.
The agency alleged that several Telegram channels operating with names like ‘Paper Leaked NEET’, ‘Re-NEET 2026’, ‘Private Mafia’ and similar were demanding money ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees in return for providing access to the exam question paper. The National Education Agency (NTA) reiterated that no exam question papers have been leaked and warned that all claims of providing advance access to question papers are fake.
–IANS
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