A final decision on switching the medical entrance test to computers will follow only after the Nandan Nilekani-led task force on examination reforms submits its recommendations, officials said.
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Education is drawing up a national strategy for computer-based testing (CBT) infrastructure that could allow the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for undergraduate medical admissions (NEET-UG) to move away from pen and paper, officials told The Indian Express.
The plan seeks to create examination-grade capacity for large national entrance tests by adding test centres, setting common infrastructure specifications and allowing more offline exams to shift to computers, according to the report. A senior ministry official said the strategy is intended to “close the geographic gap” in the availability of test centres. The model will draw on multiple sources to supply the required infrastructure, the report said.
NEET-UG, taken by nearly 25 lakh candidates every year, has so far been held on OMR answer sheets, making it one of the largest paper-based examinations run by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The agency already conducts JEE-Main, CUET-UG, CUET-PG, UGC-NET and CSIR-UGC-NET in computer-based mode, the report said.
Officials said the transition is still being worked out. The High-Powered Task Force, set up in July, is reviewing the security, technology, design, infrastructure and governance of public examinations, including those run by the NTA, and has consulted former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, who led the committee formed after the 2024 NEET-UG paper leak.
The ministry is assessing the infrastructure required, how the change would be phased in and how many centres are available, along with the likely effect on rural candidates, women and students from districts with poor internet access, according to officials. A computer-based NEET would need enough centres in every state, standardised equipment, dependable connectivity, power backup and security arrangements, while giving candidates comparable conditions across the country.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre for details of steps taken to implement the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan committee and the Nilekani task force, and has said NEET reforms should be institutionalised rather than rely on temporary arrangements. Officials said that once the national CBT framework is ready, other pen-and-paper entrance examinations could also be moved online.
Source: The Indian Express, 30 September 2026
