CUET-UG 2026 delay: TCS admits technical glitch, NTA assures full exam time
Synopsis
A TCS-triggered technical failure stalled the CUET-UG 2026 morning shift for roughly two hours on 30 May, affecting candidates at multiple centres. With 13.54 lakh students registered in the previous cycle alone, the scale of disruption underscores the high-stakes risk of outsourcing critical national exam infrastructure — and the urgent need for fail-safes.
Key Takeaways
A TCS technical glitch delayed the CUET-UG 2026 morning shift by approximately two hours on 30 May 2026 .
NTA publicly attributed the fault to TCS in a post on X, naming the vendor directly.
Krithivasan issued a formal apology and confirmed the issue was resolved without affecting exam integrity.
All affected morning-session candidates were given full compensatory time and could not exit before completing the paper.
CUET-UG 2025 saw 13.54 lakh registrations, highlighting the national scale of any such disruption.
A technical glitch by exam technology provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) delayed the morning shift of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) 2026 by approximately two hours at several centres on 30 May 2026, prompting a public apology from TCS and assurances from the National Testing Agency (NTA) that no candidate would be disadvantaged.
What Happened
The disruption affected the morning session of the computer-based CUET-UG examination, with candidates at multiple centres unable to commence their papers on schedule. The NTA announced revised timings after the delay was confirmed, attributing the fault directly to its service provider. '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,' the NTA stated in a post on X.
TCS Response and Resolution
K. Krithivasan, CEO and Managing Director of TCS, issued a formal statement acknowledging the incident. He said 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.' Krithivasan added: '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.'
NTA Assurance to Students
The NTA confirmed the glitch had been resolved and that the exam was being conducted with full compensatory time, ensuring no candidate lost any portion of their allotted paper duration. Morning-session candidates were permitted to exit only after completing the full paper. The agency said it 'sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to students and parents.'
Context and Scale of CUET-UG
The CUET-UG serves as a common admission gateway to undergraduate programmes across central universities, designed to provide equal opportunity to candidates from rural and remote areas alongside urban centres. Registration for the 2026 edition opened in the first week of April 2026. In the previous cycle, 13.54 lakh students had registered for CUET-UG 2025, underlining the scale and stakes of any technical failure.
This is not the first time a high-stakes national examination has been disrupted by infrastructure failures, raising recurring questions about the robustness of third-party technology contracts for large-scale computer-based tests. With millions of students' university admissions hinging on these exams, the pressure on both NTA and its vendors to deliver flawless execution remains immense. The NTA is expected to review the incident with TCS to prevent a recurrence in subsequent shifts and examination days.
Point of View
But also raises the question of why adequate redundancy was not built into the system contract. For a test that gates university admissions for hundreds of thousands of students, a two-hour failure is not a minor inconvenience; it is a governance lapse. The recurring pattern of technical disruptions in computer-based national exams — from NEET to CUET — suggests that the problem is systemic, not incidental. Outsourcing exam delivery without enforcing mandatory uptime SLAs and real-time failover is a policy gap the Education Ministry needs to address head-on, not paper over with apologies.
NationPress
15 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the CUET-UG 2026 delay on 30 May?
A technical glitch at TCS, the exam's technology service provider, caused the delay. The NTA confirmed that TCS reported the fault at their end, which disrupted the commencement of the morning shift at several centres.
How long was the CUET-UG 2026 morning shift delayed?
The morning shift was delayed by approximately two hours on 30 May 2026. TCS said the issue was promptly identified and resolved by its technical teams.
Were students given extra time to compensate for the delay?
Yes. The NTA confirmed that all morning-session candidates were given full compensatory time, ensuring no candidate was disadvantaged. Students were required to complete the full paper before exiting.
What did TCS say about the CUET-UG glitch?
TCS CEO and MD K. Krithivasan issued a statement saying the issue was resolved without any impact to the sanctity of the exam. He expressed regret for the inconvenience and said teams were actively monitoring all systems.
How many students are registered for CUET-UG?
Registration for CUET-UG 2026 opened in the first week of April 2026. In the previous cycle, 13.54 lakh students had registered for CUET-UG 2025, reflecting the exam's national scale.
