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India temporarily bans Telegram over exam paper leak concerns
TL;DR
India has temporarily banned the Telegram app due to concerns over cheating ahead of the NEET-UG exam. The National Testing Agency supports the ban, citing organized cheating on the platform.
Key points
- India temporarily blocks Telegram over cheating concerns
- NEET-UG exam rescheduled for 21 June after cancellation
- National Testing Agency supports the ban to combat fraud
- Critics call the ban a temporary fix for a larger problem
Mentioned in this story
National Testing Agency
TelegramNEET-UG
India has temporarily blocked the Telegram app over concerns it may be used for cheating, days before a crucial medical entrance exam is set to be reheld.
Millions of students will retake the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) on 21 June after the exam held in May was cancelled over allegations of a paper leak.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, welcomed the move, saying that it was taken in response to the "organised use of the platform [Telegram] by cheating rackets to defraud candidates".
But internet users and rights activists have criticised the move, calling it a "band-aid solution" to tackle a much larger problem of exam fraud.
Telegram has not issued a statement yet. The BBC has reached out to the platform for a response.
The platform was still available to users in India hours after the government's announcement, and it is not clear yet how the curb will be enforced.
But it has brought the NEET-UG exam - the gateway to joining medical colleges in India - and the recent controversy surrounding it back into the headlines.
Nearly 2.28 million candidates wrote the exam on 3 May at more than 5,000 centres across India. But within days, the NTA scrapped the exam after allegations of a paper leak led to widespread protests.
The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation and more than a dozen arrests have been made so far.
The NEET cancellation and a separate controversy related to marking issues in a crucial school-leaving exam led to protests across India demanding the federal education minister's resignation.
In 2024 too, the NEET exam was rocked by allegations of paper leaks, fraud and irregularities in the awarding of grace marks after thousands of candidates received unusually high scores.
On Tuesday, NTA said that India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had directed the app to restrict access to Telegram in India till 22 June.
It added that the ministry had also directed the app to disable in India the message-editing feature till 30 June, saying that the feature had been used to "fabricate" evidence of paper leaks.
Q&A
Why did India ban Telegram before the NEET-UG exam?
India banned Telegram to prevent cheating, as it was allegedly used by rackets to facilitate exam fraud.
What is the NEET-UG exam and when is it being held?
The NEET-UG exam is a medical entrance test in India, and it is scheduled to be reheld on 21 June.
What were the allegations that led to the NEET-UG exam being canceled?
The NEET-UG exam was canceled due to allegations of a paper leak that raised concerns about the integrity of the test.
How have internet users reacted to the ban on Telegram?
Internet users and rights activists have criticized the ban, labeling it a 'band-aid solution' to a larger issue of exam fraud.
