Anxiety and app bans as sweeping cheating scandal hits Indian students

Three years of her life had come down to this one exam. Ridhvi Saxena, 18, walked out certain she was on track to become a cardiologist

Three years of her life had come down to this one exam. Ridhvi Saxena, 18, walked out certain she was on track to become a cardiologist.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

That hope was shattered when India’s testing agency said the exam she had taken on May 3 had been compromised by leaks, ordering every candidate to retake it.

Authorities this week went further and imposed a temporary nationwide ban on the Telegram messaging app, where it said “cheating rackets” were operating openly and selling leaked papers.