‘Trust your effort’: NTA reassures NEET UG 2026 candidates ahead of exam (ANI photo)

NEW DELHI: National Testing Agency (NTA) Saturday said a NEET (UG) candidate from Nasik was allotted Abu Dhabi centre for the retest because the aspirant himself had applied for it.Highlighting the NTA’s web-activity records, the test-conducting body said its record indicated that the city was changed through “candidate’s own registered login credentials” during the open correction window.The NTA also claimed that the centre was previewed twice from the candidate’s credentials.“NTA’s web-activity records indicate that the city change in this case was made through the candidate’s own registered login during the open correction window, with a consistent single-user access pattern,” the test-conducting agency said hours after allotting the candidate centre of his choice.“Despite that NTA has acceded to the aspirant’s request and the change of centre was actioned,” the body said.

NTA clarification on the centre mixup

What really happend

An 18-year-old NEET aspirant from Nagpur, Abdullah Mohammad Talib, got a shock when he saw his recently generated hall ticket: his examination centre was in Abu Dhabi, 2,500 km away, and he doesn’t have a passport.The National Testing Agency does provide exam centres abroad, but these are usually for NRI and international students.The hall ticket, generated on June 14, listed the Abu Dhabi Indian School as his exam centre. The family immediately contacted the NTA helpline, where an official assured them the error would be rectified, which was done within hours.After the NEET examination was cancelled last month, NTA had sent messages to registered mobile numbers of parents and students asking whether they wanted to retain their existing centre or choose a new one. NTA had also sought bank details for a refund of the Rs 2,500 exam fee, parents said. No new fee has been charged.Many parents claimed they selected the option to keep the original exam centre, especially those located in Nagpur city limits. However, after downloading fresh hall tickets, some found their centres in far-flung locations, even in other districts.

Security heightened across country

Administrative and security arrangements have been intensified across the country ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for Sunday, with authorities deploying over 2 lakh personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of the test.The National Testing Agency (NTA) said the examination will be held from 2 pm to 5.15 pm in pen-and-paper mode across 551 cities in India and 14 overseas locations for more than 22.79 lakh candidates. Candidates with disabilities (PwD/PwBD) eligible for compensatory time will be allowed to continue writing until 6.20 pm.The re-test follows the cancellation of the original May 3 examination after a question paper leak came to light.According to the NTA, extensive coordination has been put in place involving district administrations, police forces and escort teams responsible for the secure transportation of confidential examination material.A total of 674 city coordinators have been tasked with supervising operations at the city level, while 6,669 observers will provide independent oversight at examination centres. Centre superintendents and invigilators have also been appointed at every venue to monitor the conduct of the examination.The agency said the arrangements were aimed at ensuring a secure, fair and transparent examination process.