National
ETV Bharat / bharat
By ETV Bharat English Team
Published : June 17, 2026 at 7:47 AM IST
New Delhi: Telegram messaging app CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov on Tuesday slammed the government’s temporary ban on the app, saying it is unlikely to curb paper leaks, as offenders might use other platforms.
Google has removed the messaging app from its Play Store following an official order to delist the Telegram app from its app stores till June 22 to curb paper leaks during the upcoming re-examination of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) on June 21. While the Google Play Store has removed the app, Apple is likely to follow suit to comply with the order.
In a social media post, Durov said the decision to ban Telegram for a week punishes over 150 million users of the app in India and not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions.
This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps. https://t.co/CzQWN4mXfb
“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps,” Durov said on X.
The nationwide NEET-UG examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions into undergraduate medical institutes. The agency cancelled the previous exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak.
Android phone users, while trying to download the Telegram app from the Google Play Store, see the message “this app is not available”. Those who have already downloaded the app may face restrictions while using it.
However, existing Telegram accounts continue to remain operational. While Apple’s App Store was showing the app, the new account could not be activated on iPhones.
“The government is in discussion with Telegram to temporarily disable the message editing feature till June 30, which allows existing users to edit their old messages as well as add any new content,” PTI said, quoting sources.
“The government has asked Google and Apple to delist the app temporarily. Google has done it. Apple will also be doing it,” a PTI source said on condition of anonymity. Sources said that any individual could search for a group on Telegram and join it without requiring permission from the group administrator.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations made by the NTA, has issued a direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in India for a defined and limited period ending June 22, 2026, covering the day of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath.
A separate directive requires Telegram to disable in India the message-editing feature for already-posted messages till June 30, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations, NTA said in a statement.
It said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has served as the principal nodal agency, coordinating the operational response to the Telegram-based fraud and misinformation targeting NEET candidates.
According to the agency, acting on inputs from the NTA, state law enforcement agencies, including the police forces of Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and its own monitoring efforts, I4C secured the prompt takedown of a “substantial number” of Telegram channels, groups and bots that openly advertised fraudulent and misleading purposes.
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