CUET-UG exam: TCS admits brief technical issue for delay, regrets inconvenience
New Delhi, May 30
IT major TCS said that a brief technical issue caused a delay of around two hours in the Common University Entrance Test-UG examination in the morning shift on Saturday.
K. Krithivasan, CEO and MD, TCS, said in a statement that the issue was promptly identified and resolved by "our technical teams and the examination has since resumed without any impact to the sanctity of the exam".
"We regret the inconvenience. Our teams are actively monitoring all systems. We remain committed to working closely with NTA to ensure seamless conduct of the computer-based tests," said Krithivasan.
Earlier, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced revised timings for the Common University Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate courses (CUET-UG) in 2026, after a "technical glitch" delayed the examination at some centres on May 30.
In a post on X, the NTA blamed its service provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), for the glitch. "M/s TCS has reported that a technical glitch at their end delayed the commencement of CUET (UG) 2026 at some centres on 30.05.2026," it said.
However, the NTA stated that the issue has now been resolved. "The issue has since been resolved, and the exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged."
It added that the morning-session candidates are being given "the full duration of the paper and may exit only after completing it". The NTA said that it sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to students and parents.
The CUET provides a common platform and equal opportunities to candidates across the country, especially those from rural and other remote areas, and help establish better connections with the universities.
The registration for CUET-UG 2026 began from the first week of April. In 2025, 13.54 lakh students had registered for CEUT-UG 2025.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why do we always have these last-minute technical issues? With 13 lakh+ students depending on this exam, TCS should have done better stress testing. Good that they resolved it quickly, but the inconvenience for students who traveled from rural areas is huge. The government needs to hold both NTA and TCS accountable.
As someone who's worked in IT, these glitches happen. The real issue is the lack of backup plans. For an exam of this scale, they should have offline backup systems ready. The compensatory time is fair, but the anxiety for parents and students is avoidable. Hope NTA learns from this before next year.
Honestly, I feel for the students who prepared for months and then faced this delay. The NTA-TCS partnership needs a serious review. If a private company can't handle the load, maybe the government should look at in-house solutions or multiple vendors. At least this year's issue was fixed faster than last time.
Arre yaar, CUET has potential but these technical glitches are becoming a pattern. My cousin was in the morning shift and he said the centre was chaotic. TCS should have distributed the load better or done multiple dry runs. The apology is fine, but actions speak louder than words.
Glitch in the morning, fixed by afternoon – that's good, but what about the students who had other exams scheduled later? The timing overlap could have been messy. I appreciate the compensatory time, but the entire ecosystem needs better planning. Education is not a playground for IT experiments.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.