UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Panel to review reforms of National Testing Agency
Q1. How many crore rupees was the initial grant sanctioned by the Union Cabinet to the National Testing Agency to begin its operations in its first year?
- A. ₹25 crore
- B. ₹100 crore
- C. ₹250 crore
- D. ₹500 crore
Q2. The National Testing Agency is legally constituted as a registered society under which of the following?
- A. The Companies Act, 2013
- B. The Societies Registration Act, 1860
- C. The Indian Trusts Act, 1882
- D. The Right to Information Act, 2005
Q3. In the context of the K. Radhakrishnan Committee's recommendations, the proposed 'DIGI-Exam' system is intended primarily to do which one of the following?
- A. Ensure that only the genuine candidate who wrote the examination joins the intended programme, through digital identity verification
- B. Digitally auto-evaluate answer scripts to eliminate manual OMR scanning errors
- C. Publish live digital dashboards of candidate ranks immediately after the exam
- D. Digitally allot examination centres to candidates based on their home district
Q4. The high-level expert committee constituted in 2024 to recommend reforms in the conduct of examinations by the NTA was chaired by whom?
- A. Dr. Randeep Guleria, former Director, AIIMS
- B. Dr. B. J. Rao, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad
- C. Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, former Chairman, ISRO
- D. Shri Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education
Q5. The Department-related Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, which took up the review of NTA reforms, is one of how many such committees serviced by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat?
Q6. The reforms of the National Testing Agency under review by the Parliamentary Standing Committee are implemented by the NTA, which functions as an autonomous body under which of the following?
- A. Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education
- B. Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
- C. University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education
- D. Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology
Q7. With reference to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, consider the following statements:
1. Each committee has a total strength of 31 members.
2. Of the members of each committee, 21 are drawn from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
3. A Union Minister who is a Member of Parliament is eligible to be nominated as a member.
4. The term of office of the members, including the chairperson, is one year.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- Each committee has a total strength of 31 members.
- Of the members of each committee, 21 are drawn from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
- A Union Minister who is a Member of Parliament is eligible to be nominated as a member.
- The term of office of the members, including the chairperson, is one year.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q8. With reference to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, consider the following statements:
1. There are, at present, 24 such committees covering the ministries and departments of the Union Government.
2. Sixteen of these committees are serviced by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
3. Members of the Rajya Sabha-serviced committees are nominated by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
4. The committees examine the Demands for Grants of the ministries concerned.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- There are, at present, 24 such committees covering the ministries and departments of the Union Government.
- Sixteen of these committees are serviced by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
- Members of the Rajya Sabha-serviced committees are nominated by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- The committees examine the Demands for Grants of the ministries concerned.
- A. 1 and 4 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q9. Following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination, the investigation into the alleged paper leak was taken over by which of the following agencies?
- A. National Investigation Agency (NIA)
- B. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- C. Enforcement Directorate (ED)
- D. Economic Offences Wing of the State Police
Q10. With reference to the reform announcement on the NEET-UG examination made in 2026, consider the following statements:
1. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that NEET-UG will move to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.
2. The shift to CBT was announced as taking effect from the next examination cycle.
3. The OMR-based format was identified as a root cause of the exam's vulnerability to leaks.
4. The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination itself was conducted in fully computer-based mode.
Which of the statements given above is/are correctly identified?
- Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that NEET-UG will move to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.
- The shift to CBT was announced as taking effect from the next examination cycle.
- The OMR-based format was identified as a root cause of the exam's vulnerability to leaks.
- The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination itself was conducted in fully computer-based mode.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1, 3 and 4
- C. 2 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. Among the examinations that were transferred to the National Testing Agency on its creation, which one was earlier conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education and is now the NTA's largest examination by candidate volume?
- A. Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG)
- B. National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG)
- C. University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET)
- D. Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT)
Q12. According to the demand made by MP Digvijaya Singh in his letter to the Prime Minister, the proposed White Paper on NTA-conducted examinations should cover the following:
1. All reported paper leaks and irregularities in NTA exams over the past eight years.
2. The names and current status of accused persons and arrests made.
3. The progress of investigations, charge sheets or closure reports and the stage of legal proceedings.
4. A binding directive for the immediate and permanent abolition of the NTA.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- All reported paper leaks and irregularities in NTA exams over the past eight years.
- The names and current status of accused persons and arrests made.
- The progress of investigations, charge sheets or closure reports and the stage of legal proceedings.
- A binding directive for the immediate and permanent abolition of the NTA.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 1 and 4