CISF deployed to secure NTA’s new offices after NEET leak scandal

The National Testing Agency, established under the Ministry of Education, moved to a larger space in the Government of India Press Building on Minto Road after the NEET-UG exam paper leak that triggered nationwide protests and led to the resignation of then-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. To prevent further breaches, the Home Ministry authorized a contingent of 39 Central Industrial Security Force officers to secure the agency’s confidential areas, employing frisk checks, X-ray baggage scanners and door-frame metal detectors at all entry points.

Officials said the new premises have demarcated zones with strict monitoring and that the CISF will be positioned at all access points. In parallel, the NTA is upgrading encryption, immutable logging and tamper-evident storage for examination-critical systems, and is establishing a dedicated chief information security officer. A high-powered task force led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, as well as an earlier panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan, are reviewing exam security, while independent audits by CERT-In and C-DAC continue.