A technology leader, a former space scientist, an ex-spymaster, an academic, a former education secretary and a logistics expert form a multidisciplinary group of domain experts who will advise the central government on revamping the National Testing Agency (NTA) to usher in structural reforms in India’s examination system.
A day after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following a massive students’ protest in the national capital over NEET paper leaks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a task force to overhaul India’s examination system. Nandan Nilekani, an information technology expert and Infosys co-founder, will spearhead the panel.
“Our examination system should be reliable, our examination system should be transparent, and our examination system should now have the maximum use of technology. Keeping all these things in mind, a decision has been made to form a high-power task force under the leadership of world-renowned technology expert Nandan Nilekani, which will focus on examination reform. And at the earliest, the work to ensure the reliability of the upcoming examinations will be done based on its report,” PM Modi said in a social media video.
Also read: PM Modi Announces Task Force On Exam Reforms Under Infosys Co-Founder
Here is a list of experts on the government’s task force.
Nandan Nilekani
Nandan Nilekani is a well-known name in India’s technology space. He co-founded Infosys, one of India’s largest and most successful IT companies. He is the non-executive chairman of the board of the company. He also spearheaded the Unique Identification Authority of India and was instrumental in developing Aadhaar cards. He completed his engineering education from IIT Bombay. He can help improve technology and data security. He can also help the government create an end-to-end encrypted platform for the exam that is impossible to hack.
Former ISRO Chairman S Somanath
Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, also known as S Somanath, is the former director of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He is an aerospace engineer by training. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He also completed his doctorate from IIT Madras. Under his leadership, ISRO successfully sent the lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3.
He can help with zero-error processes and cyber intelligence. Safety layers and zero-defect standards can be developed to conduct exams on the lines of space missions. This will ensure multi-layered checking at every step, from question paper preparation to result declaration, minimising the chance of human error or technical failure.
Former IB Director Tapan Deka
Tapan Kumar Deka is a former Indian Police Service officer. He served as the 28th Director of the Intelligence Bureau. He is a post-graduate in physics. He can offer valuable suggestions for developing an intelligence network and real-time cyber monitoring system to catch exam mafia and question paper leak gangs.
Also read: The Biggest Strength Of India’s New Task Force To Make Exams Leak-Proof
IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti
V Kamakoti is the director of IIT Madras. According to the premier institute’s website, he received his MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras. He joined the faculty of IIT Madras in 2001 and took over as its Director in January 2022. He heads the Microprocessor Development Program and the Information Security Education and Awareness Program at IIT Madras funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He is a member of the National Security Advisory Board. He can help protect software and server infrastructure from cyberattacks.
Former Education Secretary Anita Karwal
Anita Karwal is a former Indian Administrative Service officer from the Gujarat cadre. She retired as Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
She can help with academic reforms and student policy. She can offer suggestions on the grace marks policy, resolving answer-key issues, and establishing stricter standards for examination centres.
Logistics Expert Amrit Lal Meena
Amrit Lal Meena is an ex-bureaucrat. He retired as the Chief Secretary of Bihar. During his over 25-year-long service, he also worked in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as Special Secretary, Logistics.
He is an expert in supply chain and logistics. He can help implement tamper-proof logistics for printing, storage, and transportation of question papers, such as GPS tracking and containers with digital locks that open only at the right time, at the right place. This will eliminate the problem of papers disappearing from trunks or strong rooms or being photographed.
