The Indian government has banned the use of the Telegram messaging app until June 22, ahead of a retest of a nationwide medical college entrance examination which was cancelled after a scandal involving a question paper leak.
The government said Telegram was used to "defraud candidates" appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) medical entrance test.
The measure on Telegram was taken "in response to the organized use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026," said the Ministry of Education's National Testing Agency.
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The government said it "regrets the inconvenience caused" by blocking the messaging app, a measure bound to affect hundreds of thousands of people, saying it was a "last resort," after efforts to take down such content from the platform "had not produced" results.
