Indian Defence Forces Likely to Help NTA in NEET Question Paper Logistics to Prevent Leaks

The Indian defence forces are likely to be roped in by the Ministry of Education to provide logistics support to the National Testing Agency (NTA) for transporting the national medical entrance exam question papers to plug the leaks reported in recent years.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical courses admissions would be held on June 21, 2026. The NEET question papers leaked in recent years, resulting in the exams’ cancellation, triggering panic among aspiring students and their parents.

Against this backdrop, a high-level meeting took place at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, attended by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, in which the ministers discussed the recent troubles in holding the NEET exams.

Some senior officers from the Indian Air Force (IAF) were reportedly present at the meeting. They were provided with a proposal to deploy the IAF and its resources, including aircraft, to move the NEET question papers to examination centres across the nation safely and securely to plug any leaks.

The question papers would be moved from the printing presses to the examination centres by the IAF. However, a final decision in this regard is yet to be made, according to officers with knowledge of the discussions. The Prime Minister’s Office would take the final call, they said.

Till recently, the NEET question papers were being dispatched to the examination centres through the postal department network, which resulted in multiple handling points and human intervention.

The involvement of the IAF now in the logistics was aimed at minimising the risk of leaks and strengthening the security protocols. “IAF will discuss the practical details with officials concerned with the examination to execute the plan if it gets approval from the Ministry,” one of the officers said.

The NTA, which held the NEET-UG 2026 exam on May 3, in which 22,00,000 students participated, cancelled it following allegations and reports of the question papers being leaked by an organised gang and suspected insiders in the distribution network.

A police case has been registered with regard to the paper leak, and the investigation is now being handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has arrested 11 persons from several states in connection with the crime.