The server crash was caused by a small fire in a cable at Manav Rachna University in Faridabad, where an estimated 1,000 candidates appeared.

According to institute authorities, 400 candidates were affected.

AIIMS spokesperson Dr Y K Gupta said, “Selection of candidates from all other disciplines will go on as scheduled. We are still trying to fix a date for the entrance exam for these four disciplines, so that it does not clash with any other entrances.” The new exam is likely to be conducted in the standard offline format, considering the number of candidates.

This was the first time an entrance exam at AIIMS was being conducted in the online format, announced as a pilot before its entrances for the undergraduate and postgraduate entrances is also converted to the same format.

Sources in the academic cell said though the systems were checked on Saturday evening, a one of the cables caught fire at around 3.30 am on Sunday, from an air-conditioner that was left switched on during the night.

The fire was not detected, and the problem was noticed only after the computers started hanging an hour after the commencement of the exam at 10 am.