Jaipur: The NEET PG exam at two centres in Jaipur’s Sitapura was disrupted Sunday after repeated power outages allegedly caused candidates’ computer systems to shut down during the test, prompting protests outside the venue.Candidates alleged that the exam, scheduled to start at 9 am, could not begin until an hour later due to the power outage. They said that the disruptions affected their performance.Following the protest, state medical education department said Sunday that National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced a re-examination for the candidates affected by technical disruptions at the two ION Digital Zone centres in Sitapura, Jaipur. The re-test will be held on Sept 5, 2026, at 3 pm.According to candidates, the system was shutting down every few minutes during the exam. “We would attempt two questions, then the system would shut down; then we were asked to wait. As the system restarted, the same process repeated. This happened at least 10-15 times, and in between, candidates started discussing with each other. It looked like a school test for Class 7-8 more than a national-level entrance test,” said Vishnu Sharma, a candidate, while speaking to the media.Union ministry of health issued a statement Sunday attributing ‘internal power supply issues’ to the agency. “While the examination was completed for the overwhelming majority of candidates nationwide, an unforeseen technical disruption occurred at iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura Centres, Jaipur, Rajasthan, where the examination could not be completed for 2,445 candidates due to internal power supply issues at the test centres, attributable to TCS Ltd., the agency conducting the exam,” the statement mentioned.Reacting to the incident, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said, “This is not a ‘double-engine’ govt; it is a ‘double-failure’ system and the nation’s youth are paying the price. BJP govts are incapable of conducting even a single exam properly.”“From power outages and mismanagement to chaotic scenes, students were left in distress for hours, yet the BJP govt remained oblivious,” he added.Congress MLA Sachin Pilot said, “The disruption due to technical issues is a matter of grave concern. The issue goes beyond the mere cancellation or rescheduling of the exam. When will accountability be fixed for these systemic failures?”According to NBEMS, the NEET-PG 2026 exam was conducted on Aug 30 across 1,111 centres nationwide for 2,73,096 registered candidates. Of these, 2,65,980 candidates appeared for the exam, and approximately 2,63,535 candidates completed it.The incident in Jaipur marks the second disruption of a national-level exam in Rajasthan within 10 days due to power failure, raising questions over exam-centre preparedness in the state.On Aug 22, National Testing Agency (NTA) ordered a retest for 192 candidates who appeared for the All India AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) at a centre in Jaipur after a power failure disrupted the computer-based exam. NTA had said that of the 192 candidates scheduled to sit for the exam at the city’s Shri Satya Sai PG College, 49 could not complete it due to the power failure. The agency held a private firm tasked with conducting the exam at the centre responsible for the disruption.
