Guwahati: Amid the ongoing CBI investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and the Centre’s decision to shift the examination to a computer-based format from next year, the government has appointed four senior officers to the National Testing Agency (NTA).
According to orders issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Saturday approved the appointment of two joint secretaries and two joint directors in the NTA as part of efforts to strengthen the agency.
Anuja Bapat, a 1998-batch Indian Statistical Service officer and Ruchita Vij, a 2004-batch IRS officer from the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, have been appointed as joint secretaries for a tenure of five years or until further orders. Their appointments were made after temporarily upgrading vacant Deputy Secretary/Director-level posts to the rank of joint secretary.
The government has also appointed Akash Jain, a 2013-batch IRS (Income Tax) officer and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya, a 2013-batch Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer, as joint directors in the NTA.
The appointments come at a time when the NTA is facing scrutiny over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently acknowledged the need for additional reforms within the agency, stating that the government was committed to making the NTA “zero-error” and addressing loopholes identified after previous controversies.
More than 22 lakh students had appeared for the NEET-UG exam conducted on May 3. However, the examination was cancelled earlier this week following allegations of a paper leak, with the retest now scheduled for June 21.
Following the 2024 NEET controversy, a high-level expert committee had recommended major restructuring within the NTA, including the creation of 10 verticals headed by directors and two additional director generals.
In a Rajya Sabha reply submitted in March last year, the government said 16 new posts,eight directors and eight joint directors had been created to strengthen the agency. However, only three joint directors had joined at the time. The reply also noted that 43 contractual staff members were working in the NTA.