NEET-UG: NTA warns candidates against submitting fake or AI-generated OMR sheets
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued an advisory for NEET-UG 2026 candidates and their parents, warning them not to submit fake or AI-generated OMR sheets when raising complaints about score discrepancies. The agency stated that submitting such fabricated documents could lead to legal action.
The advisory follows the NTA's review of several complaints regarding differences between candidates' expected and declared scores for NEET-UG 2026. During verification, the agency found that many OMR sheets submitted with complaints appeared to be fake or created using artificial intelligence (AI).
"NTA is closely monitoring and scrutinising all complaints. In the wake of many OMR sheets submitted for scrutiny turning out to be fake/AI-generated, students and parents are advised to submit only original OMRs for scrutiny. Any fake/AI-generated OMR may invite legal action against the complainant," the agency said in the advisory.
The results for the medical entrance exam were announced on July 16, with 11.21 lakh candidates qualifying. The NTA had earlier cancelled the May 3 exam on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak; the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the matter. The exam was re-conducted on June 21.
Following the controversy over the paper leak and alleged irregularities, the central government announced that the exam will now be conducted as a computer-based test (CBT) instead of pen-and-paper mode. Deliberations between the education and health ministries on whether to conduct NEET-UG in pen-and-paper or online mode had been ongoing for several years.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is India's largest undergraduate entrance exam, with nearly 25 lakh candidates registering annually. The NTA conducts the test for admission into medical colleges, where 108,000 seats are available for the MBBS course. Of these, approximately 56,000 are in government hospitals and about 52,000 in private colleges. Undergraduate courses in dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha also utilise NEET results for admissions.
