NEET UG 2026 Re-Exam June 21: Mock Drill, Abu Dhabi Centre Row
NEET UG 2026 Re-Exam June 21 Mock Drill: NTA Holds Nationwide Mock Drill Ahead of June 21 Test, Fixes Nagpur Student's Abu Dhabi Centre Glitch
New Delhi: A nationwide mock drill was carried out across the country on Saturday, a day before the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, as the National Testing Agency (NTA) moved to guarantee a smooth, secure and tamper-proof conduct of the medical entrance test, officials said. Security was simultaneously stepped up at the NTA headquarters in the national capital.
The NEET UG 2026 re-exam will be held on June 21 from 2 pm to 5.15 pm in pen-and-paper mode across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, with more than 22.79 lakh candidates set to appear. Authorities said wide-ranging security and administrative measures have been locked in to ensure the test runs without disruption.
What the mock drill is for
The dry run is intended to stress-test centre readiness and tighten coordination between the multiple agencies involved in running the exam. Officials said the exercise was designed to surface and fix any operational gaps before exam day, with arrangements at the trial centres mirroring those planned for the actual test. Mock drills were reported from cities including Patna and Prayagraj, where CCTV monitoring and signal jammers were reviewed as part of the checks.
Security tightened nationwide
According to officials, extensive security has been deployed at examination centres across states, with vigilance heightened at the NTA office in New Delhi to block any irregularity and protect the integrity of the test. State police forces, including in Odisha where the exam runs across 132 centres in 27 districts, said clear instructions had been issued by both the Central and State governments to shut out any possibility of malpractice or sabotage.
Nagpur student's Abu Dhabi centre shocker — and the fix
The re-exam arrangements were briefly overshadowed by a centre-allotment error that put the NTA's administrative and technical systems back under the scanner. A Nagpur candidate, Abdullah Mohammad Talib, found that his re-exam admit card listed Abu Dhabi Indian School in the United Arab Emirates as his test centre — roughly 2,500 km from home — even though he had applied from India and had picked Nagpur, Wardha and Bhandara as his preferred cities.
The family said the candidate does not hold a passport, making any overseas travel impossible at such short notice, and immediately lodged a complaint on the NTA helpline. The agency acknowledged a technical glitch and said the grievance was being addressed, confirming that the candidate would be allotted a centre in Nagpur after verification within a few hours. The family was told a revised admit card would be issued, with the corrected centre assigned in Nagpur.
The episode revived concerns over centre-allocation procedures and the difficulty candidates face when such errors surface so close to the exam date. Similar admit-card discrepancies — wrong centres and date errors — have been reported in earlier NEET cycles, adding to scrutiny of the testing body.
Why the re-exam is happening
The NEET UG 2026 re-examination is being conducted against the backdrop of a paper-leak controversy that triggered political criticism and demands for accountability. The NTA has issued fresh admit cards and exam-day advisories, and has urged every candidate to verify all details on the admit card — name, roll number, exam centre and reporting time — and to flag any mismatch to the authorities at once.
What candidates should do before June 21?
Candidates should download the latest admit card from the official NTA portal, confirm the corrected centre name and address, reach the venue well before the reporting time, and carry the printed admit card with a valid photo ID. Mobile phones, smartwatches and other prohibited items will not be allowed inside, and centres will use CCTV surveillance and signal jammers.