NEW DELHI - India has temporarily blocked the Telegram messaging app, saying it was used to try to defraud candidates for a national medical entrance test, which had already been hit by allegations of leaked papers last month that led to millions of results being cancelled.
The ban, which is unprecedented in India, was “in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026”, the National Testing Agency at the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday.
