Following India's restrictions on Telegram ahead of the NEET re-examination, users are increasingly turning to VPNs to bypass the ban. (AI Image) Days after India restricted access to Telegram ahead of the NEET re-examination, users appear to be finding alternative ways to access the popular messaging platform. One of the clearest signs of that shift is a sudden spike in VPN usage across the country, with providers reporting a sharp increase in registrations following the government's decision. The temporary restriction was introduced after authorities alleged that Telegram was being used by fraudsters attempting to exploit the NEET-UG examination process. Keep on reading to get to know why VPN usage is surging, what officials have said about the ban and how Telegram has responded to the controversy. According to Proton VPN, demand from India jumped massively after the restrictions came into effect. In a post on X, the VPN provider said: "MeitY blocked Telegram for 150 million Indian users over leaked exam questions... the result? Daily registrations from India on Wednesday jumped by +120% - this was preceded by a +150% spike in hourly registrations on Tuesday evening." The spike wasn't limited to VPN sign-ups. Data from Google Trends also showed a sharp increase in searches for terms such as "telegram vpn" and "vpn for telegram" over the past two days, suggesting many users were actively looking for ways to regain access to the Dubai-based messaging platform. The National Testing Agency (NTA) says Telegram will remain restricted until June 22 as part of efforts to protect the integrity of the NEET-UG re-examination. According to officials, some Telegram channels were allegedly offering what they claimed were copies of the examination paper. The agency, however, maintains that no legitimate question paper exists outside the secured examination process and that such offers are fraudulent. Authorities have also accused scammers of exploiting Telegram's message-editing feature by inserting exam-related content into older messages after the examination concluded, creating the impression that papers had leaked beforehand. Telegram founder Pavel Durov criticised the government's decision, writing on X that the ban "punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps." Interestingly, we at Times Now were also able to access Telegram using VPN services on both Android and iOS devices after the restrictions were imposed. Get Latest News live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Technology Science and around the world. Sparsh has been diving deep into the worlds of technology, science, and gaming for Times Network, bringing readers the latest updates and insights. Hi... View More