The National Testing Agency (NTA) has empanelled more than 5,000 academics, scientists, researchers, educators, translators and moderators as part of efforts to strengthen examination security following the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
The experts will assist with question-paper setting, translation, vetting, moderation, answer-key verification, curriculum mapping, research and psychometric validation. The NTA is also developing a large question bank from which examination papers can be assembled closer to the test date.
The agency is empanelling experts rather than hiring them as permanent employees. The selection process remains open, with specialists being added throughout the year.
The overhaul follows the leak of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper, which triggered protests and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation. The NTA has also removed around 600 experts from its earlier panels and introduced additional checks on question papers.
Four-stage screening for experts
The NTA has introduced a four-stage verification process for applicants seeking to join its subject expert panel.
The first stage checks applicants' details, eligibility, educational qualifications and professional experience. A subject matter committee then evaluates their academic standing, research record and experience in setting examination questions.
Applicants who clear these stages are shortlisted for further scrutiny. The agency also conducts background checks, including checks for links with coaching institutes and involvement in preparing question-bank material for candidates.
Selected experts must sign a comprehensive non-disclosure agreement when they join the panel and reaffirm their confidentiality obligations before each assignment. The agency has also specified restrictions governing how confidential examination work must be handled.
The recruitment drive follows concerns about the role of subject experts in the NEET-UG leak. According to the CBI chargesheet reported in August, three subject experts allegedly removed or reproduced confidential questions through different methods. Investigators also identified gaps in frisking and CCTV monitoring in the NTA's confidential section. These are allegations in an ongoing criminal case.
Question bank aims to reduce leak risks
The NTA is developing a common pool of questions for its examinations. Under the proposed system, experts would prepare, review and verify questions without necessarily knowing which examination would use them or which questions would appear in a particular paper.
The objective is to make the question bank sufficiently large that experts cannot easily memorise and reproduce the final examination paper. Officials have said the agency intends to select questions and finalise papers only shortly before an examination begins.
“The NTA is building its own large question bank for conducting examinations,” officials told, describing the system as a way to prevent paper leaks.
The agency has begun implementing elements of this approach for some examinations. The final selection and timing of questions are intended to limit the period during which a complete paper exists in a fixed form.
A larger question bank will also require consistent quality checks. Questions must match the prescribed syllabus, maintain an appropriate level of difficulty and avoid errors across different languages. The NTA's expanded panel will support these tasks, including translation, back-checking, moderation and answer-key verification.
NTA moves towards a less vendor-dependent system
The agency is also working towards an examination system that is less dependent on any single technology provider, platform or vendor. The proposed approach, described by officials as “exam-agnostic”, is intended to make the examination process more resilient by reducing dependence on individual service providers.
The NTA conducts major national examinations, including NEET-UG, JEE Main, the Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions (CUET-UG and CUET-PG), UGC-NET and CSIR-NET. Most of these examinations, apart from NEET-UG, are conducted in computer-based mode.
In August, the agency announced a four-tier question-paper checking system and plans to strengthen its staffing. It has also moved its operations to a government building on Minto Road in New Delhi, with additional security arrangements. The Centre has separately been implementing recommendations from the K Radhakrishnan-led committee, which was formed after the 2024 NEET-UG controversy.
The wider reforms include changes to the NTA's organisational structure, recruitment of specialists in areas such as information security and test security, and tighter standard operating procedures for question-paper setting, printing, packing, transportation and examination-day operations.
Questions remain over implementation
The expanded expert panel and question bank are part of the NTA's effort to restore confidence in national examinations. Their effectiveness will depend on how consistently the agency enforces confidentiality, screens conflicts of interest and monitors access to sensitive material.
The CBI's findings in the NEET-UG 2026 case have raised questions about the effectiveness of earlier safeguards, including the handling of confidential questions and surveillance in secure areas. The new procedures will need to address those weaknesses rather than rely on declarations of confidentiality alone.
The empanelment process remains open, allowing the NTA to add specialists as needed. The agency has not announced a final deadline for applications to join the expert and translator panels.