Telegram access went dark across India on 16 June, blocked by government order until 22 June, the day after the NEET-UG re-examination. For the tens of millions of Indians who use it - 150 million, by Telegram's own count - that buys a week of frozen chats. For the smaller tribe who built things on top of the app, the bot-runners and the automation tinkerers and the indie developers piping AI agents through its Bot API, it pulled the prop shaft clean out of a working drivetrain.The chats return intact on 22 June.

Telegram access in India is temporarily restricted until June 22, 2026, following a government crackdown on fake NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination papers and exam fraud. The National…

NEW DELHI, June 16 : India has blocked the Telegram messaging app until June 22, saying the platform has been used to "defraud candidates" taking the medical entrance examination,…