"Expert Committee Blueprints Structural Overhaul of India's Examination Governance"
Computer-assisted Secure Pen-and-Paper Testing (CPPT)
encrypted papers transmitted electronically to exam centres and printed locally, eliminating transit leaks
DIGI-EXAM
multi-stage biometric and Aadhaar-based candidate authentication framework modelled on Digi Yatra
India's examination governance rests on a constitutionally shared foundation. Education is a Concurrent List subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, meaning both Parliament and state legislatures may legislate on it — a design that has historically produced coordination gaps and diffuse accountability. At the competitive-examination level, no fundamental right to a fair examination process exists, making the integrity of high-stakes tests a matter of policy design rather than enforceable entitlement.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), established to centralise and professionalise examinations such as NEET-UG, JEE (Main), and UGC-NET, was intended to reduce fragmentation and improve standardisation. Since its inception, the NTA has conducted more than 240 examinations involving over 5.4 crore candidates. Instead of delivering on this mandate, successive paper-leak scandals exposed deep institutional vulnerabilities — in question-paper security, examination-centre oversight, and grievance redressal — transforming the NTA into a symbol of governance failure. Parliament responded by enacting the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, creating a dedicated legal framework against examination malpractice at the central level.
The K Radhakrishnan Committee, constituted in 2024 following the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, submitted a report containing 101 recommendations to the Ministry of Education in October 2024. The panel was developed after twenty-three formal full-day physical sittings and drew on more than 37,000 responses from students and parents through the MyGov portal. Its stated vision was to transform the NTA into a nimble, zero-error, adaptive and integrative agency. The committee's mandate was later expanded following directions from the Supreme Court in Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India, adding terms of reference covering examination security, technological safeguards, international collaboration, and mental-health support.
The committee's central diagnostic insight was that paper leaks should not be treated as isolated incidents. Instead, it mapped vulnerabilities across the entire Testing Life Cycle — from printing and transporting question papers to candidate verification, examination-centre management, and grievance redressal. Its central technological recommendation was Computer-assisted Secure Pen-and-Paper Testing (CPPT): encrypted question papers would be transmitted electronically to secure servers at examination centres and printed there shortly before the examination, eliminating the need to transport printed papers over long distances and thereby reducing transit-leak opportunities. …
Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past?
With reference to the K Radhakrishnan Committee on examination reforms, consider the following statements:
1.The committee was constituted by the Supreme Court in the case of Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India.
2.The committee submitted 101 recommendations to the Ministry of Education.
3.The committee recommended Computer-assisted Secure Pen-and-Paper Testing (CPPT) to eliminate vulnerabilities during transit of question papers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
DIGI-EXAM, proposed by the Radhakrishnan Committee for examination reforms, is modelled on which of the following existing frameworks?
Which of the following correctly describes the concept of 'Computer Adaptive Testing' as recommended by the Radhakrishnan Committee?
Consider the following statements about the National Testing Agency (NTA):
1.Education is a Union List subject, which is why Parliament established the NTA as a centralised examination body.
2.The Radhakrishnan Committee recommended that the NTA's Governing Body be headed by an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
3.The committee recommended developing at least 1,000 Secure Testing Centres in reputed government institutions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Assertion (A): The Radhakrishnan Committee recommended replacing centralised printing and physical transport of question papers with encrypted electronic transmission to examination centres.
Reason (R): The committee identified the transportation chain as a critical vulnerability in the Testing Life Cycle that enabled paper leaks.
Which of the following is correct?
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