At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026 in New Delhi, Bloomberg host John Fraher asked Nandan Nilekani whether AI could “spontaneously create the exam paper on the day that it’s being taken.” Responding to this, Nandan Nilekani, whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked to lead India’s examination reforms, said, “Yeah, sure.” He then explained:
“I think the issue that led to this committee and so on is that the question paper leak. This is all public information, as you know, the NEET exam paper leak. So I think 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 that to be sold or whatever.” – Nandan Nilekani
Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and the architect of India’s Aadhaar and UPI digital infrastructure, was asked by PM Modi in July to chair a high-powered task force on examination reforms following the controversy over the NEET paper leak, which led to widespread protests at Jantar Mantar and the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “I was asked to do this report on July 28, and I was given three months,” he said at the forum.
Watch the full interview here:
Nandan ideated these approaches:
- AI generates the paper at the last minute from a massive question bank: “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 paper goes away, and there’s no economic incentive for that.”
- Computer-based testing (CBT) at scale: “The other thing is, of course, how to make sure all exams are done on a computer-based testing. And that requires a network of locations. We have 150,000 locations where a young boy or girl can take a test. That needs to be expanded.”
In India, computer-based public examinations often rely on private service providers to conduct them. Among these, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is one of the largest players, with a widespread network of physical examination centres through its TCS iON National Qualifier Test. DEXIT Global, which was previously operated as the government-owned NSEIT, and Sify Technologies are among the competitors.
IIT Kanpur recommends dynamic question papers based on student performance at a meeting of the IIT Council: Nilekani is not the only one proposing technology-enabled solutions for examinations. According to the minutes of the 56th meeting of the Council of IITs, held on August 25, 2025 at IIT Delhi, Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, recommended a mechanism for quantitative and reasoning skills that “dynamically generates questions based on a student’s performance.” He reasoned that this dynamic method could “reduce coaching dependency, enhance fairness, and allow flexible, secure testing environments.”
IIT Kanpur later recommended that the Council “create a robust tool to generate questions of varying difficulty levels dynamically, ensuring fairness and scalability” and prepare a white paper within six months.
Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu also made a presentation to the Council on education reforms in India, broadly calling for pedagogical changes. Explore more about the Council here.
MediaNama’s take: Nilekani reiterated that “systemic issues”, such as those affecting education, can be solved through 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. However, without addressing non-technical, real-world problems such as corruption and accountability, technology-based solutions may do little or nothing to improve India’s existing education system, let alone bring about a “reform”.
According to an Economic Times report, which draws on Frost & Sullivan’s 2025 candidate estimates and a 2025 parliamentary committee report, India’s examination system relies on a fragmented network of private contractors, creating several vulnerabilities. Some of the issues with the current system are:
- No single entity oversees the examination process: The report says that one firm may operate examination centres, while another supplies computers and/or software. Separate agencies may deploy invigilators and provide security and technical support.
- Supervision has shifted from teachers to private-agency hires: Undertrained invigilators remain a key vulnerability, as argued by Abhay Jere, former vice-chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and CEO of DEXIT Global, formerly known as NSEIT Limited. DEXIT Global is also an examination services provider.
- What about insider leaks? The investigation into the NEET 2026 re-examination leak in Lakhisarai, Bihar, pointed to an alleged inside job. Alleged biometric staff members, supervisors and operators were arrested alongside dummy candidates whose biometric verification was allegedly defeated through human collusion. This is a case of technology being manipulated by people.
- No national vendor database or common accountability framework: Examination service providers such as Confisec, Eduquity, Satvat Infosol and Aptech have reportedly been blacklisted by some states but continue to win contracts elsewhere. This is an allegation that has been raised before. The parliamentary committee’s recommendation for a centralised register of blacklisted firms remains pending, the report noted.
Technology, sometimes powered by AI, can offer legitimate solutions to real-world problems, including those affecting examinations. Nonetheless, what is the point of pursuing technology-enabled solutions, such as AI-generated question papers created at the last minute, if the existing system and the mindset of the people working within it are not reformed? Like any other system, technology can also be broken or manipulated. Therefore, India’s examination reforms require a holistic approach from the ground up. Otherwise, we could end up pursuing technology-based solutions, such as banning Telegram to prevent the spread of NEET question paper leaks, instead of investigating and identifying the actual source of the leak.
Moreover, as AI advances, there is a growing need to overhaul the education system and its curriculum. That, however, could be a “technology solution” for another day.
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