As 22 lakh students get set to appear for the NEET re-exam, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday urged them to appear for it fearlessly and free of anxiety.
Pradhan said he has complete faith in the National Testing Agency (NTA), state governments, district administrations, the education fraternity and the students.
"Today, around 22 lakh students are going to sit for NEET after a short while. They should sit fearlessly and free of anxiety. They will certainly do well. My many good wishes to the students," he said.
The re-test will be held from 2:00 pm to 5.15 pm. Candidates with disabilities, who are eligible for compensatory time, will be allowed time till 6:20 pm.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has asked students to carry their admit card, a valid photo ID and two passport-size photographs and report to their centres between 11:00 am and 1:30 pm.
The agency reminded all candidates that entry to examination centres opened at 11:00 am, with the last permissible entry at 1:30 pm, after which no one was allowed inside.
Appealing to people not to do anything that could affect children's mental health, Pradhan said the future of India's new generation should not be toyed with.
"Please do not play with the future of India's new generation. Do not do anything that will impact the mental health of children. After a few hours, children are going to appear for the examination," he said.
"I appeal that we must not play with the future of India's new generation. No one should make it a joke. Nothing should be done that impacts the mental health of children. In a few hours, students are going to appear for the examination," he said.
Without naming anyone, the minister said some "so-called responsible people" had on Saturday behaved with "wrong intention" that affected children, and urged them not to cause any more distress.
"At least if you are responsible, if you consider yourself a true citizen of India, if you represent the people of India, please take responsibility and do not give any more distress to the children," he said.
Addressing students in a video on X, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said, "I hope you have a wonderful, excellent exam and you all do really, really well. Remember, we are with you, we want to look after you, protect you and make sure that you have a brilliant future."
"To the Prime Minister and to the government, I would like to say, please, please ensure that there are no glitches this time. The students have been through enough stress and they really cannot afford to go through it again," Rahul said.
The NTA said it is closely monitoring social media and taking firm action against rumour-mongering and fraudulent "paper leak" claims, which cause needless stress to candidates. It urged candidates and parents to rely solely on official communication from the NTA and disregard unverified messages. Still, the fear among aspirants, parents, and even the NTA itself remains.
In a statement issued on the eve of the re-test, the NTA said the examination is being conducted across 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad. The examination is being conducted in English and 12 Indian languages.
Candidate verification has been strengthened with 38,795 frisking staff and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification, with biometric manpower doubled and supported by face authentication, so that verification is thorough while queues at centres are kept to a minimum, the agency said.
A centre systems officer (CSO) has been deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor CCTV feed and resolve any technical issues on the spot, it said.
In observation and CCTV monitoring, the NTA said around 6,700 observers have been deployed at examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring CCTV footage centrally.
Student-friendly facilities are being provided at centres in coordination with state governments, including drinking water, ORS, ambulances and shaded waiting areas for parents.
Additional measures for candidates include a wall clock in every examination room, additional rough-work pages, with pages provided at the beginning of the booklet for the convenience of left-handed candidates, and an extended examination window to offset the time taken for entry formalities.
The NTA appealed to all stakeholders to extend full support to candidates and help reduce examination-day stress so that over 22 lakh aspirants "can appear for the examination in a calm, secure and supportive environment".
The NTA had cancelled the May 3 NEET-UG 2026 exam amid allegations of a paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the matter.
The re-exam will be held on Sunday.
