Over 20.8 lakh students appeared for NEET UG 2025; Exam held smoothly across India and abroad
More than 20.8 lakh students appeared for the NEET UG 2025 exam, which was held on Sunday across 548 cities in India and 14 international centres. According to sources from the Ministry of Education, the exam was conducted smoothly without any major problems or cheating cases, ANI reported.
“Over 20.8 lakh students gave the exam. It went smoothly, without a doubt,” a source said. Only small issues like students arriving late or being confused about the dress code were reported. “No unfair means or violations have been reported till now,” the source was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts this medical entrance test, took a strong and well-planned approach involving many government departments to ensure the exam was held fairly and securely.
A Centralised Control Room was set up under the Ministry of Education. Officials from the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Defence, and Electronics & IT (MeitY) worked together in this control room. They closely monitored the exam with help from local district officials and police teams across the country.
To make supervision better, some higher education institutions were chosen to work with local authorities at the exam centres. On May 3, mock drills were held at all 5,453 centres to check if everything was working properly, like biometric verification, mobile jammers, frisking teams, and other logistics.
Most exam centres were set up in government or government-aided schools and colleges, as they are seen as more trustworthy. Since the exam was held in the afternoon during peak summer, authorities made sure drinking water, electricity backup, portable toilets, and first-aid were available at every centre.
To stop fake news and cheating, the NTA launched a special portal on April 26 where people could report suspicious claims. Over 2,300 complaints were received, mostly about fake messages on social media claiming leaked question papers. Officials found 106 Telegram channels and 16 Instagram pages spreading such false information. Complaints have been filed with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (14C). Action is being taken, and requests have been sent to social media platforms to remove such posts and share admin details.
Even on the day of the exam, fresh complaints were made against some active Telegram and Instagram channels. The ministry confirmed to ANI that these complaints are also being looked into by 14C.
(With inputs from ANI)
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