A day before the NEET UG 2026 re-test, questions over an examination centre allotment prompted the National Testing Agency (NTA) to issue a detailed clarification. The controversy centred on a candidate from Nagpur whose admit card listed Abu Dhabi as his examination centre, despite his claim that he had selected cities within Maharashtra.
Responding to the criticism, the NTA said its records show that the city change was made through the candidate's own registered login during the correction window. The agency also said it later acted on a request from the candidate's side and changed the examination centre to Nagpur.
NTA explains Abu Dhabi centre allotment
The case involves NEET aspirant Abdullah Mohammad Talib, whose admit card for the June 21 re-examination showed Abu Dhabi, UAE, as the allotted examination centre.
According to the candidate, he had originally opted for examination cities in Nagpur, Wardha and Bhandara. The allotment of an overseas centre subsequently raised concerns and sparked discussion about the examination-city allocation process.
In its statement, the NTA said it had reopened the examination-city correction window after the NEET (UG) 2026 re-test was rescheduled to June 21. The purpose was to allow candidates to review and modify their preferred examination cities if required.
The agency also highlighted the scale of the exercise.
"Around 3.2 lakh candidates used the correction window, and NTA allotted the preferred examination city to over 99.5% of them."
Addressing the Nagpur candidate's case specifically, the NTA said its digital records pointed to changes being made through the candidate's own account.
"NTA's web-activity records indicate that the city change in this case was made through the candidate's own registered login during the open correction window, with a consistent single-user access pattern."
The agency further said it identified three separate activities linked to the account.
"NTA has observed that on 3 occasions, one - the centre was changed to Abu Dhabi using candidate's credentials and twice it was previewed that the centre is Abu Dhabi."
Centre later changed to Nagpur
According to the NTA, it subsequently received an informal request from the candidate's side on the evening of June 19, roughly 48 hours before the examination, asking for the centre to be shifted to Nagpur.
The agency said it moved quickly after receiving the request.
"Despite the Abu Dhabi centre being chosen by the candidate, the NTA received an informal request on the evening of June 19 (just 48 hours before the exam) to change the centre to Nagpur. NTA personnel immediately initiated the change and contacted the candidate's father on 19th evening itself to help them complete the formal process."
The NTA said the request was accepted and the examination centre was subsequently changed.
Explaining the rationale behind its decision, the agency added, "The NTA's priority is that no candidate misses the examination over an administrative doubt."
The clarification comes amid heightened scrutiny of the examination process, with the agency maintaining that its records support the sequence of events outlined in its statement while emphasising that steps were taken to ensure the candidate could appear for the re-test without difficulty.
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