New Delhi: Nothing is more important than the health and future of the country’s youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday as he announced that fast-track courts would be set up to ensure that the cases of people involved in the paper leak are tried.In a post on X, the Prime Minister said, “There is nothing more important than the well-being and future of our youth! We have decided to establish fast-track courts to ensure swift and strict punishment for those who are involved in the release of papers. We have ordered the officials involved and the government officials to do everything necessary in this matter. This continues our plan to protect the interests of students.” He said: “Those who try to destroy the future of our youth will not survive.“The announcement comes at a time when the NEET-UG 2026 exam continues to dominate the global debate. A month after the re-examination, questions about the exam have shifted from papers that are said to be inconsistent with the OMR, complaints about the results and the grievance redressal mechanism, while protests demanding answers continue at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.Protests continue weeks after the reviewThe latest announcement comes in the wake of one of the longest-running protests by students at national entrance exams in recent years. Since June, students, parents and youth groups have been protesting at Jantar Mantar, demanding transparency in the conduct of competitive exams.Among the prominent voices supporting the unrest is Sonam Wangchuk, climate activist, who entered the 26th day of her hunger strike on July 23. Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on June 28 in solidarity with student protesters, has said he will end the hunger strike only after receiving assurances that no punishment will be meted out to the youth protesters. He was shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram after his health deteriorated.Students’ unions, including the Students Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Association (AISA) and members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), have continued to press for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, major reforms in the examination system, greater transparency in the functioning of national examination bodies and action against officials suspected of wrongdoing.The controversy escalated after the leak of the papersThe controversy started with the allegations regarding the leak of the NEET-UG 2026 paper, which led to a retrial of the exam. The screening was conducted on June 21 for more than 20 lakh people at 5,440 places in India and 14 places abroad under the security arrangement.However, further testing did not resolve the conflict. After the National Testing Agency showed the OMR sheets that were recorded and recorded the answers between July 13 and July 15, several respondents said that there is a discrepancy between the OMR sheets, the recorded answers and the final scores. Although the NTA has said that investigations into some complaints have found AI-generated or tampered documents and warned of legal action against those submitting false documents, candidates continue to verify their original OMR papers.Demand for wages is a bigger questionThe protests have also grown beyond what people want for a fair trial. The protesting groups have demanded ?1 crore as compensation to the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly committed suicide following the exam controversy. They have also requested that there be a change in the establishment in order to strengthen the credibility and transparency of the immigration examination.In light of this, the Prime Minister’s announcement of fast-tracking courts is the latest sign of the government’s response to the challenges of exam security. Whether the move meets the many demands of students and parents, including transparency, response to complaints and accountability of institutions – should remain part of the public debate as the NEET-UG 2026 debate unfolds.