Congress slams Nilekani task force on exam leaks as 'damage control exercise'

The Congress party on Thursday attacked the Modi government over the recurring examination paper leaks, describing the newly constituted task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani as a “damage control exercise” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that the government’s response to the latest NEET-UG paper leak follows a familiar pattern. He recalled that after the 2024 NEET-UG leak, the government had set up a High-Level Committee of Experts under K. Radhakrishnan to suggest reforms. Now, in 2026, after another leak, it has constituted a High Powered Task Force under Nilekani for examination reform.

Mr. Ramesh cited an analysis of the Nilekani Committee’s terms of reference, which he said shows that seven of its nine mandates were fully addressed and the remaining two were partially addressed by the Radhakrishnan Committee. He further alleged that the government had not implemented 27 of the Radhakrishnan Committee’s 101 recommendations so far, and had not appointed a full-time Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) for the two years between the 2024 and 2026 paper leaks.

“As has been previously highlighted, the Modi Government has not even implemented 27 of the Radhakrishnan Committee’s 101 recommendations so far. It didn’t even appoint a full-time Director General of NTA for the 2 years between the 2024 and 2026 paper leaks,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The Congress leader alleged that the government showed no political will or sincerity in implementing the Radhakrishnan Committee report. “The Nilekani Task Force is simply a damage control exercise by a PM whose image has taken a battering even within his ecosystem,” he added.

Last month, Prime Minister Modi announced the constitution of a six-member task force headed by Nilekani to recommend reforms aimed at making the examination system leakproof. The task force is expected to submit its recommendations in due course.

The government has not yet officially responded to the Congress’s remarks. The announcement of the task force came amid widespread student protests and public anger over the latest paper leak, which affected the NEET-UG examinations conducted earlier this year.

The issue has reignited a broader debate on the credibility of high-stakes national examinations and the effectiveness of the NTA in conducting them securely. While the government maintains that it is committed to ensuring transparency and fairness, opposition parties have repeatedly called for concrete action rather than new committees.