India has blocked Telegram due to concerns over exam fraud ahead of the re-test for medical entrance examinations

India has temporarily blocked Telegram due to concerns over exam fraud related to leaks from medical entrance tests and ongoing cheating investigations.

India has temporarily suspended access to the Telegram messaging app until June 22, citing its purported role in enabling fraud against candidates taking a national medical entrance examination, the Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday.

The government stated that the restriction was enacted under the provisions of India’s information technology law, which permits the blocking of online platforms to safeguard national sovereignty and integrity.

Officials stated that the decision was made after reports indicated that the platform had been utilized by cheating networks to target candidates preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) re-examination.

The NEET exam was previously cancelled after authorities found that question papers had been leaked, leading to extensive protests by students in various regions of the country.

The National Testing Agency of the Ministry of Education stated that the recent action against Telegram was a necessary step to curb further malpractice in anticipation of the retest scheduled for June 21.

It noted that previous efforts to eliminate such content from the platform had not yielded adequate results.

The government recognized that the restriction would impact hundreds of thousands of users but stated that it was essential and temporary.

Telegram, having experienced significant growth in India and ranking among the most popular messaging apps in the nation, had not provided comments when this report was made.