Centre tells Supreme Court Nilekani-led panel formed to reform competitive exams

New Delhi: The Central government on Monday apprised the Supreme Court that it has constituted a high-level committee chaired by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to explore and recommend reforms for conducting competitive examinations in India.

Appearing on behalf of the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a division bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe that the government has taken a very serious view of the recent question paper leaks, including for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), and has already declared an expert high-level committee to recommend reforms.

Besides Nilekani, the committee also comprises former Isro chairman S Somanath and former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Tapan Deka among others.


"It is my duty to point out that the central government has taken a very serious view and a high-level committee has been constituted. The prime minister has already declared," Mehta told the Bench.

He said the high-level committee will be chaired by Nandan Nilekani, S Somanath (former Isro chairman), Tapan Deka (former IB director, who played a major role in finding out the earlier lacunae in NEET), V Kamakoti (director, IIT Madras), Anita Karwal (former Union education secretary), and Amrit Lal Meena, a logistics expert.