UPSC Darpan

SocietyGS110 October 2026

House Panel’s 382nd Report Asks NTA for Question Banks and 1,000 Government CBT Centres

Open in the app — quiz, notes, Mistake Vault हिंदी में पढ़ें

The news

New Delhi. Parliament’s Education committee, chaired by Mukul Wasnik, presented its 382nd report, “Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency (NTA)”, to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on October 9, per a PIB release. The Nilekani task force had said NEET will move to computer-based testing (CBT); the panel says how. A large, continuously updated question bank is “the most viable defence” against leaks: CBT papers need no printing or transport, so the final paper can be set very close to the exam, with vetters quarantined till it ends. NEET-UG should shift only after 1,000 secure government CBT centres exist, at least one per district, as private centres are “a weak link”. It seeks a national registry of blacklisted vendors, notes only 23 of 39 NTA posts are filled, and suggests exploring age and attempt limits. In Pune, MPSC aspirants are protesting three State paper leaks this year.

The chain in one line: NEET-UG 2024 controversy → Radhakrishnan committee proposes government CBT centres → NEET-UG 2026 leak → Nilekani task force commits NEET to CBT → parliamentary panel sets the conditions

Static syllabus linkage

  1. The anti-leak law, toughened in 2026, targets organisers and service providers. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, amended in July 2026 (assent 31 July; the higher penalties apply once notified), covers UPSC, SSC, railway, banking and NTA exams. Unfair means now draw five to ten years’ jail and a fine up to ₹50 lakh; organised leaks draw seven to ten years and at least ₹10 crore. A guilty service provider can be fined up to ₹5 crore and barred for up to eight years.
  2. The NTA is a registered society, not a statutory body. Approved by the Cabinet in 2017 and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, it runs NEET-UG, JEE (Main) and CUET for the Education Ministry and lays no annual report before Parliament. After the 2024 NEET controversy, a committee under former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan proposed secure government test centres, at least one per district, a plan the panel now sizes at 1,000.

Why UPSC loves this

  1. Exam integrity is now a governance question. GS2 covers “Social Sector/Services relating to … Education” and “statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies”; NTA tests reach about 1.2 crore candidates a year.

Prelims nuggets

  • The NTA is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860; it is not a statutory body.
  • Each of the 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees has 31 members: 21 from the Lok Sabha, 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
  • Offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 are cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
  • Under Article 317, only the President can remove a State PSC member for misbehaviour, after a Supreme Court inquiry.

Analysis

  1. A question bank attacks the economics of a leak. A leak pays because one fixed paper exists weeks early, passing through printers and trucks. A randomised paper drawn hours before the test shrinks both the window and the reward. The risk shifts to the bank itself, hence checks on setters’ coaching links.
  2. Lens — Independence and accountability: the NTA has autonomy without answerability. Staffed on deputation and answerable to no House, the NTA is called to account only in court. A thoughtful officer would back a statutory NTA with a fixed-tenure head, its own cadre, an annual report to Parliament and CAG audit: insulation for the paper, accountability for the result.
  3. CBT narrows or widens the rural gap depending on who owns the centres. Private centres cluster in cities, so rural candidates pay for travel and lodging. A government lab in every district, used by schools on other days, turns exam spending into public assets. Attempt caps curb endless coaching cycles but must spare late starters a second chance.

Possible Mains question

“Paper leaks in India are a failure of institutional design more than of policing.” Critically examine with reference to the National Testing Agency. (15 marks, 250 words)

Model approach

  1. Directive — Critically examine. Weigh design against enforcement; judge.
  2. Introduction — one agency, about 1.2 crore candidates. Cite the 382nd report (October 2026).
  3. Body — the design invites leaks: fixed papers, private centres, no vendor blacklist, a hollow cadre. Diagram: setter → printer → transport → centre, each leak point crossed out under CBT.
  4. Body — a statute would join NTA’s independence to accountability. Value addition: Radhakrishnan committee. The 2024 Act acts only after a leak.
  5. Conclusion — redesign first, punish second. Question banks, government centres, a national vendor registry.

Administrator's brainstorm

As Collector, you must host a government CBT centre in a district that has none. How?

Choose a government college with reliable power and connectivity for a lab that schools use on other days. Put access control and staff vetting under a named officer. Run mock tests for rural candidates first, so the new format is not a new disadvantage.