NTA security revamped: CISF to guard premises and confidential zones after NEET leak

Following recent administrative lapses and a major controversy surrounding the NEET paper leak, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has relocated its operations to a new office where its "confidential areas" will now be secured by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to establish foolproof arrangements, officials confirmed.

The decision follows the leak of the medical entrance exam question paper earlier this year, an event that triggered widespread student demonstrations and ultimately led to the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Shortly after Pradhan's departure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of a high-powered task force, chaired by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, to propose systemic reforms to prevent future paper leaks. The task force has yet to present its final findings.

A chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named three subject matter experts as the primary source of the breach. According to the CBI, the NTA lacked basic entry and exit frisking or inspection protocols for experts working within the confidential section. This allowed the accused to write down prompts and content from draft question papers onto small slips of paper, which were cut out of plain sheets originally provided to them for rough calculations and translation work.

Established in 2017 under the Ministry of Education to conduct fair, transparent, and standardised nationwide entrance tests, the NTA previously carried out its operations from its facility in Okhla.

"A dedicated over 55,000 square feet office space has been allotted in the Government of India Press Building on Minto Road. The fifth floor and parts of the fourth and sixth floors of the said building have been allotted to the National Testing Agency. Confidential and sensitive operations have been shifted in the last one month to the newly allotted building," a senior official told PTI.

The CBI's report also highlighted that the actions of the three accused experts went undetected because the NTA's national capital headquarters lacked a dedicated live CCTV monitoring control room.

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Addressing security arrangements at the new facility, the official outlined the enhanced surveillance setup: "Confidential areas have been demarcated in the building where the movement and operations will be strictly monitored to ensure that a foolproof system is in place. The Home Ministry has approved Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security cover for the premises," the official added.

Elaborating on the deployment, the official noted that a contingent of 39 CISF personnel has been stationed to handle overall security, access control, and rigorous screening, utilizing Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs) alongside X-ray baggage scanners.

"The CISF is being deployed at suitable locations at all the entry and exit points for monitoring and regulation of access into the confidential area," the official added.

While other sections of the Government of India Press Building are already under CISF protection, no educational institution in India currently receives CISF cover. However, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts central civil service examinations, is similarly guarded by the force.

A similar NEET paper leak in 2024 previously prompted the formation of a high-level committee led by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan. That panel submitted comprehensive recommendations for tightening security across critical exam infrastructure, including question paper creation, candidate registration, fee processing, admit card issuance, computer-based testing networks, OMR evaluation, score normalisation systems, and result generation.

Following a subsequent leak, the Supreme Court severely criticised the testing body, observing that "it has not learnt its lessons".

In response to the recurring security vulnerabilities, the agency is actively overhauling its procedures.

"Arrangements are being made in mission mode for establishing strict access controls, encryption standards, immutable logging and tamper-evident storage for all examination-critical workloads.

"Running security readiness reviews of all examination-supporting systems before each examination cycle in coordination with NTA's technology function and coordinating with NTA's test-security function on the technical security of examination day workflows -- including biometric authentication, face-matching, CCTV systems and live monitoring infrastructure -- are among the action items being worked upon," the official said.

Furthermore, the NTA is establishing examination-day cyber-incident response measures backed by enhanced Security Operations Center (SOC) oversight and rapid-response capabilities.

To reinforce cybersecurity protocols, the agency has created a specialised executive role.

"The position of general manager and CISO has been advertised, and the selection process is at an advanced stage. Independent third-party cyber-security audits by CERT-In and C-DAC empanelled agencies continue to be undertaken," the official added. (PTI)