5,454 centres, 22 lakh aspirants: How NTA has prepared for NEET UG retest today

THe NEET UG 2026 retest, also dubbed by many as Re-NEET, is go under to be held on lord's day, June 21, with the subject Testing government agency (NTA) expression that it has put in place "comprehensive arrangements" to ensure "fair, secure and candidate-friendly" conduct of the exam.The NEET exam was originally conducted on May 3, but it was marred by allegations of paper leak and hence cancelled, which has since snowballed into a major controversy and demands for the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The NTA said it is closely monitoring social media and taking firm action against rumour-mongering and fraudulent "paper leak" claims, which cause needless stress to candidates. It urged candidates and parents to rely solely on official communication from the NTA and disregard unverified messages. Still, the fear among aspirants, parents, and even the NTA itself remains.Also read: 1.3 lakh CCTV cams, 51k jammers: Security arrangements in place ahead of NEET-UG reexam todayThe NEET 2026 re-exam: 5,454 centres in India and abroadIn a statement issued on the eve of the re-test, the NTA said the examination is being conducted across 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad. The examination is being conducted in English and 12 Indian languages.Highlighting the scale of arrangements, the NTA said the re-test will be held in more than 95,000 examination rooms, each equipped with CCTV. A total of 1,38,560 CCTV cameras have been installed, with feeds monitored virtually at the national, state and ministry levels, the agency statement said.To secure the examination against electronic malpractice, 51,311 jammers have been deployed, including 17,054 by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and 34,257 by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).Also read: NTA DG dismisses NEET-UG re-exam paper leak claims, assures multi-layer securityThe NTA said a large number of staff have been mobilised for examination-day duties, with each examination room having two invigilators and every centre staffed with more than 10 additional examination functionaries.Candidate verification has been strengthened with 38,795 frisking staff and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification, with biometric manpower doubled and supported by face authentication, so that verification is thorough while queues at centres are kept to a minimum, the agency said.A centre systems officer (CSO) has been deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor CCTV feed and resolve any technical issues on the spot, it said.In observation and CCTV monitoring, the NTA said around 6,700 observers have been deployed at examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring CCTV footage centrally.Also read: NEET UG retest on June 21: Here’s the exam day checklist for candidatesThe CCTV footage is additionally analysed using artificial intelligence-based tools to flag anomalies, providing a multi-layered monitoring system at the national, state and ministry levels, the statement said.Security deploymentUnderlining the security arrangements, the NTA said that there has been extensive mobilisation of state and district administration staff, as well as the deployment of police, paramilitary forces, Indian Air Force, and Department of Posts personnel.On average, around 40 to 50 security personnel have been deployed at each examination centre, it said.Bank officials have been deployed at approximately 1,500 branches holding confidential material, while the Department of Posts will coordinate its teams to collect OMR sheets at around 700 collection centres across the country, the statement said.Review meetings have been held with chief secretaries and senior officials of all states, and the districts have confirmed the centre's arrangements, it said.A nationwide mock drill was conducted on Saturday to verify all systems -- jammers, CCTV, frisking staff and biometrics -- while coordinators have verified the examination material held in the custodian banks and confirmed its availability for the examination, the agency said.Other arrangementsThe NTA statement said that student-friendly facilities are being provided at centres in coordination with state governments, including drinking water, ORS, ambulances and shaded waiting areas for parents.Additional measures for candidates include a wall clock in every examination room, additional rough-work pages, with pages provided at the beginning of the booklet for the convenience of left-handed candidates, and an extended examination window to offset the time taken for entry formalities.The NTA appealed to all stakeholders to extend full support to candidates and help reduce examination-day stress so that over 22 lakh aspirants "can appear for the examination in a calm, secure and supportive environment".