The National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting the NEET exams, on Friday announced a set of ‘student-friendly’ reforms for the NEET UG 2026 re-test, which includes an additional 15 minutes, extra rough-work pages and a redesigned question booklet layout. The move comes ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-exam slated to be held on June 21, following the cancellation of the May 3 test after allegations of a paper leak surfaced. 

What’s been offered to students? Details here

In a notice issued on Friday, June 12, the NTA said the duration of the pan-Indian medical entrance exam, which is conducted in the pen-paper format, has been increased to 195 minutes from 180 minutes. The exam will now be held from 2 pm to 5:15 pm. 

The agency added that the revised schedule includes time for mandatory procedure such as attendance marking and invigilation formalities, ensuring that the candidates taking the test receive the full writing time without suffering administrative delays. 

After Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan issued a statement on May 15, confirming that candidates taking the re-test shall be provided an additional 15 minutes, the agency made the official announcement on Friday. 

More space offered for rough work

The NTA has also doubled the number of rough-work pages in the question booklet. Candidates will now receive four rough pages instead of two, providing them more space for calculations, diagrams and working notes during the exam. In the announcement, the agency clarified that two rough pages have been placed at the beginning of the booklet, immediately after the instructions page, while the remaining two pages will continue to appear at the end. Earlier, rough pages were provided only at the back of the booklet. 

According to NTA, the modification was implemented after feedback from candidates, especially left-handed students, who found the previous arrangement inconvenient. 

Changes apply to papers across all languages

Notably, the redesigned booklet layout has been implemented across both English, as well as regional language versions of the NEET UG question paper. A statement issued by the agency read, “NTA believes that even small improvements in examination design can have a positive impact on the experience of candidates during a high-stakes examination.” 

What happened earlier?

The changes come against the backdrop of the cancellation of the NEET UG 2026 exam originally held on May 3, 2026. As many as 22.7 lakh candidates took the test, which was cancelled on May 12 after allegations of a paper leak made it to the headlines.

The probe into the paper leak incident was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 13, which arrested numerous people in connection with the case from different parts of India. The CBI sleuths learnt that some candidates had allegedly received questions on their phones as early as May 1, two days before the exam was conducted.