The Centre on Tuesday temporarily restricted Telegram in India till June 22 after the National Testing Agency (NTA) raised concerns over fake paper leak claims and fraud linked to the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination.
The National Testing Agency said the restriction will remain in force until June 22, covering the June 21 re-test and the period immediately after it. The government has also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30.
According to the agency, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following recommendations made by the NTA.
The agency described the move as a targeted step aimed at protecting the integrity of the examination process and preventing the spread of misleading content during the re-examination period.
According to the agency, the platform's message-editing feature had been misused in recent examinations to create misleading "paper leak" claims by altering older messages after an exam had already concluded.
The government moved to a platform-level restriction after earlier measures failed to adequately contain the spread of misinformation, the NTA noted.
The agency added that the action was limited to the examination window and was intended to address public concerns while minimising wider disruption.
According to the NTA, channels operating under names such as "PAPER LEAKED NEET", "Re-NEET 2026" and "Private...
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