Despite a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country since mid-March, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) shows no hint of postponing the National Defence Academy entrance examination, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday, April 18. Distressed, the aspirants are tweeting with the hashtag #PostponeNDA2021.

At the same time, several exams that were supposed to be held in April and May have either been cancelled or postponed. The NEET PG exam (new dates yet to be decided) was also scheduled to be held on April 18, but it has been postponed considering the surge in COVID cases. India reported 2.34 lakh new cases on Saturday, April 16.

With new lockdown restrictions being imposed in many states and cities, the students are citing that too as a reason for not being able to reach their exam centres. "The cases are increasing day by day. But #NDA2021 is not postponed. My exam center is about 200 km away [sic]," tweeted a student. "There should be a clear hearing from officials of #UPSC for #NDA2021. COVID-19 is on its peak now and this isn't the correct time for conducting exams. We, aspirants, are requesting you to change the dates from April 18 and wait for the right time [sic]," tweeted another.

The five-hour-long examination will be held in two shifts.