NEW DELHI: A total of 22,80,054 candidates from India and abroad have registered to take up the retest of the NEET-UG exam to be held on Sunday afternoon.
Nine states in the country will have more than 1 lakh students aspiring to become doctors, with the maximum number appearing from Uttar Pradesh - 3,56,291 - along with 5,401 candidates from abroad.
In an indication of the unprecedented measures taken by the Centre to make it a smooth affair, a total of 1,38,560 CCTV cameras have been installed with feeds to be monitored virtually at the National, State and Ministry levels, with 51,311 jammers at the 95,000-odd examination centres.
The medical entrance exam for 2026, being repeated in light of the cancellation of the May 3 exam, will take place from 2 pm to 5.15 pm at 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad. The question papers will be in English and 12 Indian languages.
A mega mock drill was held across the country on Saturday.
"Our drill was a success. We checked the working of the jammers, the CCTVs, the seating positions for the candidates, the working of the biometrics and the arrangements made by the police," said a senior NTA official.
Coordinators have verified the examination material held in the custodian banks and confirmed its availability for the examination, the NTA said in a statement.
Data shared exclusively with The New Indian Express revealed Uttar Pradesh (3,56,291), Maharashtra (2,22,905) and Rajasthan (2,03,470) have the maximum medical aspirants among the States and Union Territories.
The least number of aspirants in the country are from Lakshadweep with 141 candidates slated to write the exam on Sunday.
Among the other States with more than one lakh aspirants are Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal.
An official statement from NTA on Saturday said that each of the 95,000-plus examination centres will be equipped with CCTVs.
“To secure the examination against electronic malpractice, 51,311 jammers have been deployed (17,054 by ECIL and 34,257 by BEL). Each exam room will have two invigilators, and every centre is staffed with more than ten additional examination functionaries."
Candidate verification has been strengthened with 38,795 frisking staff and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification.
"The biometric manpower has been doubled and supported by face authentication so that verification is thorough while queues at centres are kept to a minimum," it said.
A Centre Systems Officer (CSO) has been deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor the CCTV feed and resolve any technical issues on the spot, it said.
"NTA has deployed around 6,700 Observers at examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring the live CCTV footage centrally. The CCTV footage is additionally analysed using AI-based tools to flag anomalies, providing a multi-layered monitoring system at the National, State and Ministry levels," the agency said.
Bank and postal officials roped in
On average, around 40 to 50 security personnel have been deployed at each examination centre.
Bank officials have been deployed at approximately 1,500 bank branches holding the confidential material, and the Department of Posts will coordinate its teams for the collection of OMR sheets at around 700 collection centres across the country, said the NTA.
There has been extensive mobilisation of the State and district administrations, with deployment of police, paramilitary forces, the Indian Air Force and the Department of Posts.
Review meetings have been held with the Chief Secretaries and senior officials of all States, and districts have confirmed centre arrangements.
Candidate-friendly steps
In coordination with State Governments, student-friendly facilities are being provided at centres, including drinking water, ORS, ambulances, and shaded waiting areas for parents.
The Delhi government has set up cooling zones with fans and A/cs for families.
For candidates, additional measures 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.
NTA is closely monitoring social media and is taking firm action against rumour-mongering and fraudulent “paper leak” claims, the release added.
Dos and Don'ts for the Sunday NEET UG exam
Students must bring admit card, a valid photo ID, and two passport photos.
Students cannot bring Mobile phones, Watches, Wallets or lunch boxes.
Countries abroad where the exam is being taken
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Doha, Muscat, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore, Colombo and Lagos.
