New Delhi, Aug. 1: Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Saturday reviewed preparations for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate, NEET PG 2026, and asserted that the examination would be conducted under a robust security framework, dismissing rumours of question paper leaks as “false and malicious.”
Chairing a high level meeting, Mr. Nadda assessed the preparedness of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, technology partners, and other agencies involved in conducting the examination scheduled for August 30.
According to the Health Ministry, 2,73,183 candidates have registered for NEET PG 2026, an increase of over 12.5 per cent compared with last year. The examination will be held in a single shift across nearly 340 cities at more than 1,300 centres.
Reviewing the security arrangements, the Minister said the examination would be conducted under a multi layered protection system to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the selection process.
The Ministry said the final question paper would be generated through a highly secure, encrypted, and time bound process shortly before the examination begins. It said digital decryption of the paper would take place only at the scheduled start of the examination, making any claims of a prior leak baseless.
The security protocol includes advance sealing and verification of examination centres, high definition CCTV surveillance, dynamic computer allocation, mobile signal jammers, candidate frisking, and real time monitoring through central and regional command centres. More than 60,000 personnel will be deployed across the country to supervise the examination.
The Ministry also announced several measures aimed at improving the examination experience for candidates. The revised format will consist of 180 questions to be answered in 210 minutes, giving aspirants more time per question without increasing the overall duration.
Candidates were required to indicate three preferred States during registration, with the State of correspondence as the mandatory first preference, to facilitate allotment of examination centres closer to their residence. The allotted test city will be announced nearly three weeks before the examination to enable candidates to plan their travel.
The biometric verification process has also been strengthened. Along with Aadhaar based authentication, iris scanning will be used wherever fingerprint verification cannot be completed because of technical issues.
The Health Ministry advised candidates to rely only on official notifications issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It also urged aspirants to report any incidents of impersonation, touting, or fraudulent claims through the dedicated reporting email established by NBEMS.
