NEET CBT shift under consideration: Centre informs Supreme Court on NTA reforms
New Delhi: The Supreme Court recently took note of the additional affidavit filed by the Union Government detailing the measures being taken to strengthen the National Testing Agency (NTA) and improve the conduct of examinations following the NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy.
The measures outlined in the affidavit include changes in the NTA's organisational structure, appointment of senior officers, recruitment of domain specialists and enhanced security arrangements.
A division bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe considered the matter on September 18, 2026, while hearing a batch of petitions, including the writ petition filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) against the NTA, seeking fundamental and long-term reforms in the national examination system.
The Additional Affidavit on behalf of the Union of India was filed on September 16 by Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, in compliance with the Supreme Court's August 19 order.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Supreme Court, in its August 19 order the Union government to submit the affidavit within three weeks, along with indicative timelines for implementing the remaining recommendations. Along with it, the Apex Court had also directed the National Testing Agency to inform it about the steps taken to implement the recommendations of the expert committee headed by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, as improved by the expert committee headed by Nandan Nilakeni.
During the September 18 hearing, the Court noted that the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, had filed the affidavit as directed earlier. It also noted that the suggestions submitted by the petitioner had been placed before the High-Powered Task Force for consideration.
What does the centre's affidavit say?
In the additional affidavit, the centre informed the Apex Court that "NTA is transitioning from exam-specific units to functional vertical structure to build specialized, domain-specific capabilities across core operational areas."
The Centre also informed that the leadership of the testing agency has been upgraded, with a Secretary-level officer serving as Director General, and officers from services including the IAS, IPS and IRS, along with domain specialists recruited from the open market, are supporting the NTA in areas such as security, human resources and research and development.
"It is averred in the affidavit that “senior leadership of NTA accordingly now draws officers from IAS, IPS, IRS, Indian Statistical Service, Indian Ordinance Factory Service, Indian Supply Service etc. bringing to their specialist expertise across multiple domains. Confidential operations have also been relocated to a dedicated 55,524 sq. ft. government facility at Minto Road, New Delhi, protected by 39 CISF personnel, X-Ray screening, metal detectors and strict access control protocols," the affidavit stated.
The affidavit said the HPTF is currently considering, among other issues, the possible migration of NEET-UG from the pen-and-paper mode to computer-based testing (CBT).
"The possible migration of NEET (UG) from the pen-and-paper mode to Computer-Based Testing, including the design of the transition, the sequencing, the infrastructure prerequisites, and the equity implications for rural, women and low connectivity-district candidates. This is the matter placed on record at Part VI of the Compliance Affidavit dated 03.08.2026, and awaits the recommendations of the HPTF, in structured consultation and concurrence of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission," it said.
The Centre said a national examination-grade CBT infrastructure strategy was also being formulated to address the geographic gap in test-centre availability and standardise examination-grade specifications.
Taking note of this, the court directed the NTA to upload the affidavit on its official website so that stakeholders can see the progress made in implementing the measures.
In addition, the bench also directed the Joint Secretary, DoPT, who is coordinating with the High Powered Task Force, to file an affidavit within two weeks indicating the progress made by the Committee.
The Court also said that suggestions from counsel and stakeholders could be sent to Advocate Madhulika Upadhyay at the email address specified in the order.
The matters have now been listed for hearing on October 9, 2026.
Meanwhile, after the order, the NTA recently published the affidavit on its official website.
Also read- NEET reforms: NTA must be institutionalised, rules Supreme Court, seeks timeline from Centre
