Announcing a shift that has long been discussed and debated, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Friday that the NEET-UG exam , the gateway to undergraduate medical admissions in the country, will be a computer-based test (CBT) from next year onwards.

The exam, which was held on May 3 for over 22 lakh candidates, was cancelled earlier this week. In a press conference, Pradhan said that compared with the system of using OMR sheets, a CBT is “a little more protected”, but cyber crime remains a challenge.

Currently, NEET-UG is a pen-and-paper exam. We explain what prompted the shift to CBT, and the challenges of doing so.

Why has this shift been announced now?

After a NEET-UG paper leak came to light in 2024, the Centre constituted a seven-member committee headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to suggest reforms in the conduct of public exams.…