The National Testing Agency (NTA) has significantly enhanced security measures around its examination activities, deploying 39 personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to its New Delhi office. These personnel will monitor restricted areas, regulate access, and conduct searches of staff and visitors. These steps come amid repeated concerns regarding leaks of examination materials and administrative shortcomings.
CISF personnel have been stationed at the entrances and exits of confidential zones within the Government of India Press Centre on Mint Road. They will implement access control and screening measures, including baggage X-ray scanning and Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs).
Furthermore, NTA has clearly demarcated confidential zones in its new premises. Movement and operations within these areas are under close surveillance as part of efforts to prevent unauthorized access to examination materials. A senior official stated that 'the confidential zones have been marked in the building where movement and operations will be strictly controlled to ensure an impeccable system. The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the CISF security coverage for these premises.'
Relocation of NTA's sensitive operations to a new office
These security measures follow NTA's relocation from its former office in Okhla to a new facility on Mint Road, where confidential and sensitive operations are concentrated. The official specified that a dedicated space of over 55,000 square feet has been allocated in the Government of India Press Centre on Mint Road. The National Testing Agency has been assigned the fifth floor, as well as parts of the fourth and sixth floors of this building. Confidential and sensitive operations were moved to the newly designated building over the past month.
Other parts of the Government of India Press Centre building are already protected by CISF forces, but now NTA will receive a dedicated security system specifically for its confidential examination-related zones. The agency's new security system also includes more rigorous monitoring of technological systems critical for conducting exams. NTA is working on implementing strict access controls, encryption standards, immutable logging, and data storage resistant to unauthorized alteration.
Strengthening cybersecurity measures
NTA is also auditing the security of all systems used throughout the examination cycle. These systems include candidate registration, fee payment, admit cards, computer testing, OMR processing, result systems, and other infrastructure supporting the exams. The official noted that planned actions include conducting readiness checks of all auxiliary systems before each examination cycle. These checks are carried out in coordination with NTA's technology department and its security testing function, covering the technical security of exam day workflows, including biometric authentication, facial matching, video surveillance systems, and live monitoring infrastructure.
The agency is also preparing a specialized cyber incident response system related to examinations. Plans include enhancing monitoring of the security operations center and ensuring rapid response capabilities on exam days. For information security oversight, NTA has appointed a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). The official reported that the selection process for the CEO and CISO is in an advanced stage, and independent third-party cybersecurity audits conducted by agencies accredited by CERT-In and C-DAC are ongoing.
Exam material leak exposed gaps in confidential zone
The latest security measures were adopted following the 2024 NEET-UG material leak, which triggered nationwide student protests and drew attention to NTA's examination processes. The CBI investigation found that three subject experts were the primary sources of the leak. According to this finding, the experts within the NTA confidential zone were neither checked nor screened upon entry or exit.
It is presumed that the experts managed to obtain brief information from test questions on small sheets provided to them for rough work and translation. The CBI also noted that the NTA office in Delhi lacked a dedicated control room with live video surveillance. This resulted in the activities of the three accused experts going unnoticed. NTA was established in 2017 by the Ministry of Education to conduct fair, transparent, and standardized examinations.
Previous reforms and new control
The 2024 NEET material leak also led to the formation of a high-level committee led by former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan. This committee recommended strengthening security control measures across the entire examination process. Its recommendations covered question banks, candidate registration, fee payment, admit cards, computer testing platforms, OMR processing, normalization mechanisms, and result systems.
A separate task force, led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, was also announced to develop recommendations for ensuring the integrity of the examination system. This group was formed after the scandal but has not yet submitted its report. Following the 2026 material leak, the Supreme Court sharply criticized NTA, stating that it 'had not learned its lessons.' Thus, the current modernization of security measures goes beyond just physical protection of confidential materials; the agency now integrates CISF protection, stricter access control, video surveillance, and live monitoring with cybersecurity audits and technical guarantees across all its examination systems.