NEW DELHI – India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after several days of intense protests by students in the heart of New Delhi demanding his resignation over repeated examination paper leaks in the past few years.

The protests began over the leak of this year's examination paper for medical entrance, which was subsequently re-conducted last month.

In a post on social media, the minister announced that he had sent his resignation to the prime minister. He also appealed to the students to focus on their studies and advance their careers.

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For nearly a month, thousands of students, mostly from universities, had been protesting in the heart of the Indian capital city against the recurring examination paper leaks.