Modi Names Nilekani To Lead India’s Exam System Overhaul
The six-member panel will examine technology, security and structural reform as Pralhad Joshi takes charge of the education ministry.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named technology entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani to head a six-member task force charged with overhauling India’s public examination system, a day after Pralhad Joshi was given additional charge of the education ministry.
Modi announced the panel on Sunday, 26 July, as the government sought to contain the fallout from the NEET-UG paper leak and weeks of student protests that led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The other members are former Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman S. Somanath, former Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti, former education secretary Anita Karwal and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena.
The group brings together experience in technology, space research, security, education administration and large-scale operations.
The government said the panel would recommend changes to make examinations more reliable, transparent and technology-driven.
Its work is expected to cover the use of technology, cybersecurity, examination logistics and structural changes to the system, including the functioning of the National Testing Agency.
“Our examination system needs to be reliable and transparent, and it must make maximum use of technology,” Modi said in a video message.
He said the government would act on the task force’s report to protect the credibility of future examinations.
The government has not announced a deadline for the report or released detailed terms of reference.
It has also not said whether the task force will examine individual cases of alleged malpractice or confine itself to redesigning the examination system.
Nilekani, the co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys Ltd, led the creation of Aadhaar as the first chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India.
His appointment suggests the government will place technology at the center of its proposed examination reforms, including the management of candidate identities, question papers, examination centers and result processing.
The administrative change came alongside a political one.
President Droupadi Murmu accepted Pradhan’s resignation from the Union Council of Ministers on Saturday, 25 July, with immediate effect. Joshi was then assigned the education ministry in addition to his existing responsibilities.
Joshi currently heads the ministries of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy.
A five-term Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker from Dharwad in Karnataka, he previously served as minister for parliamentary affairs, coal and mines.
He took charge of the education ministry on Sunday and began reviewing its work with senior officials. He also called a meeting with officials of the National Testing Agency, which has faced intense scrutiny over the handling of national entrance examinations.
“This is a new subject for me,” Joshi told reporters, adding that he was familiarizing himself with the ministry before taking decisions.
In a separate statement, he said he accepted the responsibility “with humility and a deep sense of duty.”
Pradhan resigned after sustained protests over the alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper and wider complaints about the integrity of public examinations.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, ended its agitation after the government agreed to demands that included Pradhan’s departure, examination reforms, the withdrawal of cases against protesters and compensation for some affected families.
The Center was also scheduled to introduce the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha on Monday, 27 July.
The bill has been listed for introduction as well as consideration and passage.
The proposed changes are expected to provide tougher punishment for organized paper leaks and examination fraud, faster investigations and time-bound trials.
The legislation is also expected to increase the liability of examination centers, institutions and service providers involved in serious breaches.
The Congress questioned the decision to form another panel, pointing to an expert committee led by former Isro chairman K. Radhakrishnan after examination irregularities in 2024.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the government had not fully implemented that committee’s recommendations and described the new task force as an attempt to repair the prime minister’s image.
