The National Testing Agency (NTA) has made unprecedented security arrangements for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)- UG 2026 re-examination, which will be held at 5,440 centres across 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad on Sunday, June 21.
The re-examination is a big credibility test for the NTA, which is facing nationwide protests and backlash over the cancellation of the earlier NEET-UG 2026 examination due to a paper leak.
The agency, which is responsible for holding the NEET exam, has put in place never-before-seen arrangements to ensure a smooth and secure examination.
CCTV cameras, jammers installed at re-exam centres
The examination will be held in more than 95,000 examination rooms, each equipped with CCTV. A total of 1,38,560 CCTV cameras have been installed, with feeds monitored virtually at the National, State and Ministry levels.
To secure the examination against electronic malpractice, 51,311 jammers have been deployed (17,054 by ECIL and 34,257 by BEL), the NTA said in a release.
Each of the more than 95,000 examination rooms will have two invigilators, and every centre is staffed with more than ten additional examination functionaries.
Candidate verification has been strengthened with 38,795 frisking staff and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification — with biometric manpower doubled and supported by face authentication — so that verification is thorough while queues at centres are kept to a minimum.
A Centre Systems Officer (CSO) has been deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor the CCTV feed and resolve any technical issues on the spot.
NTA has also deployed around 6,700 observers at examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring the live CCTV footage centrally.
The CCTV footage is additionally analysed using AI-based tools to flag anomalies, providing a multi-layered monitoring system at the National, State and Ministry levels, the release further said.
Air Force, police and paramilitary forces deployed
There has been extensive mobilisation of the State and district administrations, with deployment of police, paramilitary forces, the Indian Air Force and the Department of Posts.
On average, around 40 to 50 security personnel have been deployed at each examination centre.
Bank officials have been deployed at approximately 1,500 bank branches holding the confidential material, and the Department of Posts will coordinate its teams for the collection of OMR sheets at around 700 collection centres across the country.
Review meetings have been held with the Chief Secretaries and senior officials of all States, and districts have confirmed centre arrangements.
A nationwide mock drill was conducted on June 20 to verify all systems — jammers, CCTV, frisking staff and biometrics. Coordinators have verified the examination material held in the custodian banks and confirmed its availability for the examination.
In coordination with state governments, student-friendly facilities are being provided at centres, including drinking water, ORS, ambulances, and shaded waiting areas for parents.
For candidates, additional measures include a wall clock in every examination room, additional rough-work pages (with pages provided at the beginning of the booklet for the convenience of left-handed candidates), and an extended examination window to offset the time taken for entry formalities, the release further said.
Social media being monitored for paper leak rumours
The NTA is closely monitoring social media and is taking firm action against rumour-mongering and fraudulent “paper leak” claims, which cause needless stress to candidates.
Candidates and their parents have been advised to rely solely on official communication from NTA and not to trust unverified information.
The NTA has appealed to all stakeholders to extend full support to the candidates and to help reduce examination-day stress, so that over 22 lakh aspirants can appear for the examination in a calm, secure and supportive environment.
(With inputs from agencies)