- SC questions Nilekani panel on exam reforms, Radhakrishnan report.
- K Radhakrishnan Committee formed after the 2024 NEET paper leak.
- Recommended secure testing, NTA overhaul, student welfare measures.
India Examination System Reforms Committee:On August 19, 2026, the Supreme Court bench hearing the NEET paper leak case sought clarification regarding the role of the task force led by Nandan Nilekani. This task force was constituted last month to bring about major reforms in India's examination system. While the K. Radhakrishnan Committee, formed in 2024, focused primarily on strengthening NEET and the NTA, the scope of the Nilekani panel is far broader; it encompasses the country's entire examination ecosystem and the legal framework of the NTA. Its recommendations aim to make the system "robust, secure, transparent, trustworthy, and future-ready" by emphasizing technologies such as AI and blockchain.
As soon as the central government constituted this new panel, public attention shifted back to the 2024 report by the K. Radhakrishnan Committee. That committee had been formed following the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak controversy, amidst growing public concern regarding the fairness of the entrance test.
Background: Why Was The Committee Formed?
Headed by former ISRO Chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, the committee submitted its report to the Ministry of Education in October 2024, after 23 full-day sittings and over 37,000 public responses via MyGov, with a stated vision to make the NTA "nimble, zero-error, adaptive and integrative." Its mandate later expanded, following Supreme Court directions in Vanshika Yadav vs Union of India, to cover technological safeguards, staff training, and student mental-health support.
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Key Recommendations Of The K Radhakrishnan Committee:
CPPT (Computer-assisted Secure Pen-and-Paper Testing): Encrypted question papers transmitted electronically and printed at secure servers just before the exam, eliminating leak-prone physical transport.
DIGI-EXAM: A "Digi Yatra"-style multi-stage biometric and Aadhaar-based authentication system across application, exam, and admission stages.
NTA Institutional Overhaul: Recasting the NTA as an empowered "Apex Body" led by a Director General, with 10 new specialised verticals.
Secure Testing Centres: At least 1,000 dedicated centres, plus mobile testing buses for remote regions.
Multi-Session & Adaptive Testing: Spreading large exams across sessions, with long-term transition to Computer Adaptive Testing.
Student Welfare: A dedicated NTA mental-health cell, tele-helplines, coaching-institute oversight, and AI-based grievance redressal.
Why This Matters Now?
Nearly two years later, much of this blueprint remains unimplemented, as evidenced by the 2026 NEET paper leak. Its fate underscores a recurring governance challenge; reform blueprints often falter not from lack of vision but from lack of sustained, accountable execution, a gap the new Nilekani-led committee will now need to address as the Supreme Court continues to press for clarity on its role and timeline.