Dr Radhakrishnan to head government committee on restructuring NTA

The Union Ministry of Education has set up a seven committee headed by the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), K.Radhakrishnan, to review and suggest reform in the examination process. The government has taken this step after the controversy over a paper leak at the undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam 2024 and the postponement of NET-UGC exams.

Chairman and members of the Committee 

The committee consists of seven eminent people. It will be headed by former ISRO chairman Koppillil Radhakrishnan.

The other members of the committee are Professor BJ Rao, Professor Ramamurthy K, 

Dr Randeep Guleria, Pankaj Bansal, Professor Aditya Mittal and  Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Union  Ministry of Education.

What's the role of the committee?

The expert panel has been formed to review and make recommendations on:

• Reform in the mechanism of the examination process,
• Analyse the whole examination process and suggest measures to improve the efficiency of the system and to stop any possible breaches,
• It will also conduct a thorough review of the National Testing Agency's (NTA) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Protocols.

NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh sacked by the Government 

The government of India has sacked the Director General of the National Testing Agency, Subodh Kumar Singh. He has been sacked after controversy over the irregularities in the recent exams conducted in NTA.

The government has appointed Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman and Managing Director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation, as the Director General of the NTA.

About the National Testing Agency

The National Testing Agency was established as an autonomous body by the Indian government under the Union Ministry of Education in November 2017. 

The NTA conducts entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in the central government’s various higher educational institutions.

Union Minister for Education: Dharmendra Pradhan