India's National Testing Agency (NTA), created in 2017 to bring fairness and standardisation to the country's high-stakes exams, is now facing its own crisis of credibility after another major paper leak. In June, more than two million students were forced to retake a key medical entrance exam following a leak, sparking weeks of youth-led protests that ultimately led to the resignation of the federal education minister. The episode has renewed questions about whether India's centralised, high-volume testing system can be trusted, prompting the government to set up yet another reform panel, this time led by tech entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani.

The pattern is a familiar one: a similar task force was convened in 2024 after irregularities in another medical exam caused unrest, proposing over 100 reforms, only around half of which have reportedly been fully implemented. Experts told the BBC the problems run deeper than leaks alone, citing the NTA's heavy reliance on temporary staff (just 24 of its 221 employees are permanent), inconsistent exam centres, and exam design itself. Suggested fixes include shifting decisively to computer-based testing with standardised, state-controlled centres, and restructuring exams like NEET-UG into multiple sessions with varying question sets, similar to the engineering entrance exam, to reduce the risk posed by a single high-stakes sitting.