Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who heads the high-powered task force on exam reforms, on Tuesday said the issue of question paper leaks can be addressed with a systematic approach and advocated the use of technology to deal with the problem.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026 in New Delhi, on Tuesday, Nilekani said the issue of exam paper leaks is solvable and needs the application of technology.
“If you look at it systematically and go to the root causes of why it’s happening and use technology to solve it… they are solvable issues,” he said.
Nilekani further noted that these are all systemic issues which the committee will address, adding that the Prime Minister is very keen to implement their suggestions.
Nilekani heads the task force that was set up in July after the leak of the NEET-UG question paper in May led to the cancellation of the medical entrance exam and a re-test, triggering weeks of student protests across the country that ended with the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
According to the Infosys co-founder, one way to stop exam paper leaks is to do away with a fixed question paper and generate it from a large question bank only at the last minute.
“The question then becomes, why do we need to have something called a question paper? Because the moment you have a question paper, then that creates an economic incentive for it to be sold,” he said.
“The way to do that is to really have a massive bank of questions. And only at the last minute generate the question paper for that day. And therefore, then the question of a question paper goes away, and there is no economic incentive for that,” Nilekani added.
Asked whether AI could generate the exam paper on the day of the test, Nilekani answered in the affirmative.
He stated that the panel is also looking at moving all exams to computer-based testing, which would require expanding the network of about 1.5 lakh locations where students can currently take such tests.
Nilekani, who was also the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and led the creation of the digital identity system, noted that when deploying technology at scale, he always focuses on how it can create a win-win for the people.
(PTI)
