India bans Telegram until June 22 ahead of NEET-UG re-exam
Telegram has been temporarily banned in India until June 22, while the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam is scheduled for June 21.
The government says this move is to stop exam fraud and fake leaks, especially since Telegram's editing feature was reportedly used to spread false papers.
They have also asked Telegram to turn off message editing until June 30.
IIT-Kanpur director backs ban, whistleblower objects
IIT-Kanpur's director, Manindra Agrawal, backed the ban, saying the problem with Telegram channel is not sharing of leaked paper, there are many other ways of doing it, rather that it can be used to spread fake news of leak that appears genuine. It was done by someone during JEE Advanced. It causes unnecessary confusion.
But not everyone agrees; CBSE OSM whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant said it was wrong to single out Telegram when other apps also have elements of misinformation.
The decision has definitely stirred up a debate about how best to tackle exam cheating online.