The National Testing Agency (NTA) has published the provisional answer keys for UGC-NET June 2026, CSIR-NET and ICAR AIEEA (PG) and AICE (PhD) 2026 today, August 16. The testing agency confirmed the release date in an update issued on August 14, putting an end to the wait for thousands of candidates. According to NTA, the provisional answer keys have been made available on its official websites. Candidates will be able to check their responses against the provisional keys and assess their probable scores before the declaration of the final results. The UGC-NET June 2026 answer key can be accessed through the official UGC-NET portal, while candidates appearing for CSIR-NET and ICAR examinations will have to use their respective NTA portals. The UGC-NET portal is available at ugcnet.nta.nic.in, while the CSIR-NET portal is hosted at csirnet.nta.nic.in. Candidates can follow these steps to download the provisional answer key once it is activated: NTA has specifically advised candidates to rely only on official communications issued by the testing agency. The warning comes amid the circulation of unofficial updates regarding answer-key release dates and examination-related information. The provisional answer key is not the final answer key. NTA will examine the objections submitted by candidates, consult subject experts where required and prepare the final answer key. The final key will subsequently be used for evaluation and result preparation. Candidates are therefore advised to keep their login credentials ready and regularly check the official NTA portals for the answer key, response sheet, objection instructions and subsequent result updates. Lakshima Sareen is a Senior Copy Editor with the Digital Education Desk at Times Now, specialising in education news, exam updates, and policy reporti... View More