3 min readNew DelhiMay 20, 2026 05:59 PM IST
The Punjab government has announced free travel for NEET aspirants on Punjab Roadways buses ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21. Students appearing for the medical entrance examination will be allowed to travel free of cost on all Punjab Roadways buses on June 20, 21, and 22 by simply showing their NEET admit card.
The announcement was made after concerns were raised about the financial difficulties faced by several candidates travelling to examination centres. According to the statement issued by the state government, many students from economically weaker backgrounds struggle even to arrange transport fare for reaching exam centres. The decision was taken after students requested support during an interaction with Arvind Kejriwal.
“Many poor students take the NEET exam. They don’t even have money for the fare to get to the exam center,” the statement said, adding that the Punjab government had decided to waive fares to ensure students do not face additional financial burden while appearing for the examination.
ਬਹੁਤ ਸਾਰੇ ਗਰੀਬ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ NEET ਪ੍ਰੀਖਿਆ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਕੋਲ ਪ੍ਰੀਖਿਆ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਤੱਕ ਜਾਣ ਲਈ ਕਿਰਾਏ ਲਈ ਪੈਸੇ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦੇ। ਜਦੋਂ ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਹਾਲ ਹੀ ਵਿੱਚ NEET ਦੇ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਗੱਲ ਕੀਤੀ, ਤਾਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੇ ਮਦਦ ਦੀ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਕੀਤੀ। NEET ਪ੍ਰੀਖਿਆ 21 ਜੂਨ ਨੂੰ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਲਈ, ਪੰਜਾਬ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਨੇ 20, 21 ਅਤੇ 22 ਜੂਨ…
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) May 20, 2026
The move comes amid major changes surrounding NEET-UG after this year’s examination was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak. The National Testing Agency had earlier announced that the cancelled examination would be reconducted, while the Union government said students would not be charged any additional examination fee for the retest.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently said the government would ensure that students are not burdened financially because of the cancellation and re-examination process. He also confirmed that candidates would be allowed to choose their preferred examination city again for the retest.
Pradhan further announced that NEET-UG will shift to a computer-based test format from next year onward. So far, the examination has been conducted in pen-and-paper mode. The proposal for conducting NEET as a computer-based examination was earlier recommended by a seven-member committee headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan after concerns regarding paper leaks and examination security emerged in 2024.
The June 21 NEET-UG re-examination is expected to be conducted across centres in India under revised security and monitoring measures. Students have been advised to regularly check the official NEET portal for updates related to admit cards, examination city slips, and revised guidelines.
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