INTRO-
After the NEET UG controversy, the Centre has strengthened the National Testing Agency by appointing three senior officers and introducing further examination reforms.
NEW DELHI
The Centre has appointed two directors and a joint director to the National Testing Agency (NTA) as part of its ongoing overhaul following the NEET UG controversy. The appointments were announced through official orders issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on August 27.
IAS officer Prasanna Venkatesh V and IPS officer Ravi Kumar Singh have been appointed as directors in the NTA. Venkatesh, a 2012-batch IAS officer, has been posted under the Central Staffing Scheme for five years. He has earlier served in senior positions in Andhra Pradesh.
Singh, also a 2012-batch officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed to the NTA for five years. He was earlier associated with the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing as Deputy Commissioner of Police and has now been shifted to the Department of Higher Education.
The government has also appointed 2016-batch Indian Revenue Service officer Amit Samdariya as joint director at the deputy secretary level. His tenure in the NTA will be for four years, according to the official order.
The appointments are part of wider changes being introduced at the examination agency after protests over alleged irregularities in NEET UG-2026. The Centre has also removed 47 NTA officials. Further reforms are expected to include changes in outsourcing procedures and a four-level system to check question papers, aimed at strengthening examination security and preventing leaks.