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The Government of India has constituted a High-Powered Task Force (HPTF) chaired by Nandan Nilekani to recommend comprehensive reforms in the conduct, security, design and governance of public examinations, including those conducted by the National Testing Agency.
The Task Force has opened a public consultation, inviting suggestions from students and candidates, parents, teachers and academic institutions, examination-conducting and test-indenting bodies, subject and technology experts, industry, civil society and other stakeholders.
Ten suggestive areas are listed, among them examination security, assessment methodology, governance and accountability, prevention and redressal of malpractice, secure Computer-Based Testing, examination infrastructure, inclusion across social, economic, regional and linguistic groups, and student well-being.
Suggestions may be sent until 13 September 2026 through a dedicated portal hosted by the Department of Personnel and Training, or by phone, WhatsApp or email, in English, Hindi and regional languages.
The exercise follows the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which criminalised paper leaks and organised cheating in central recruitment and entrance examinations.
Established in 2017 by the Ministry of Education as an autonomous, self-sustained specialist testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for admission and fellowships in higher educational institutions. It is named explicitly in the Task Force's mandate.
The department hosting the Task Force's consultation portal and email. It sits in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and is the nodal department for central government personnel policy and recruitment.
A constitutional body conducting the civil services and other central recruitment examinations; among the examination-conducting bodies covered by the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
Conducts recruitment to Group B and Group C posts in central government departments; also covered by the 2024 Act.
Passed by both Houses in February 2024 and given Presidential assent on 12 February 2024, it came into force on 21 June 2024. It applies to examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, the Staff Selection Commission, the Railway Recruitment Boards, the National Testing Agency and banking recruitment bodies, among others.
A person resorting to unfair means faces imprisonment of not less than three years, extendable to five years, together with a fine of up to ₹10 lakh. Offences committed by an organised syndicate attract substantially longer imprisonment and a fine of not less than ₹1 crore.
The NTA was set up as a registered society under this Act, which is why it is described as an autonomous and self-sustained body rather than a statutory or constitutional one — a distinction examiners test against the UPSC, which is constitutional.
| Body | Nature | Principal role |
|---|---|---|
| Union Public Service Commission | Constitutional body | Recruitment to the All India Services and central services |
| Staff Selection Commission | Government body under DoPT | Recruitment to Group B and Group C central government posts |
| National Testing Agency | Autonomous society, established 2017 under the Ministry of Education | Entrance examinations for admission and fellowships in higher education |
Nandan Nilekani's association with Aadhaar and the identity layer of India's digital public infrastructure makes candidate authentication and secure delivery of question papers a likely direction for the Task Force's recommendations.
Articles 14 and 16 make fair access to recruitment examinations a constitutional question, not merely an administrative one — which is why the Task Force's inclusion mandate covers linguistic and regional access, not just security.
The 2024 Act covers central examinations; state recruitment examinations remain with state legislation, so any national reform architecture has to be adoptable by states rather than imposed.
The pre-legislative consultation route used here — open submissions in multiple languages through web, phone, WhatsApp and email — has become the standard template for expert committees, and is itself examinable as a governance practice.
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Government Policies and Interventions; Statutory and Non-statutory Bodies
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Indian Polity
General Awareness > National Affairs
General Awareness > Current Affairs
Examination integrity has been a recurring news and policy theme since 2024; committee chairpersons and the 2024 Act are standard general-awareness material across UPSC, SSC and banking exams.
The body chaired by Nandan Nilekani constituted to recommend reforms in the conduct, security, design and governance of public examinations, including NTA examinations.
Under the 2024 Act, an examination conducted by a listed public examination authority such as the UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Boards, NTA or banking recruitment bodies.
Examination delivered and answered on computers at designated centres, listed by the Task Force as an area where security must be strengthened rather than assumed.
An organisation that commissions an examination from a testing agency rather than conducting it itself — named separately among the stakeholders invited to submit suggestions.