NEET-UG 2027 computer-based shift still under active consideration, Centre tells Supreme Court

The Union government has told the Supreme Court that shifting NEET-UG 2027 from the written format to a computer-based examination is still under "active consideration", with the next edition of the test only months away.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appears for the National Testing Agency (NTA), made the submission before a Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe on Friday. He was responding to a petitioner's contention that the government must make clear the mode in which NEET-UG 2027 will be held.

Mr. Mehta said both the government and the High-Powered Task Force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani were aware of the issue. "It is nearing the next exam. Something will have to be done. It is under active consideration," he told the court. The Bench directed the task force to place its position on record through an affidavit within two weeks.

Earlier position on CBT

In May 2026, the NTA had told the court in an affidavit that it was prepared to move to the computer-based test (CBT) format the following year, noting that a High-Level Committee of Experts had recommended the change. The agency had said the transition would be carried out from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the client ministry for NEET-UG, bringing all major NTA examinations onto the CBT platform.

More recently, the government and the NTA have taken the view that a final decision on CBT should await the recommendations of the Nilekani task force. Mr. Mehta indicated the panel may submit its report by the end of September 2026, and said it had already held consultations with Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the High Powered Steering Committee on NTA Reforms, which was set up to suggest a comprehensive clean-up of systemic problems in the conduct of NEET-UG.

Court presses on implementation

Justice Narasimha observed that reforms would take roughly a year to become entrenched, pointing to the filling of posts, the creation of verticals, specialised personnel, infrastructure and digitisation, along with the transition from written to digital examinations. He asked when the recommendations of the various committees would be implemented on the ground, noting that only committees exist at present. Mr. Mehta acknowledged that the Nilekani committee was only a starting point.

The Bench said it intended to visit the NTA's offices to monitor its functioning, with Justice Narasimha stating that the judges would drop in to see whether the system was actually working and whether there was enough manpower.

The court also said the NTA should have structural stability through permanent offices and staff, with at least half its workforce made up of permanent employees rather than deputed officials. Senior leadership, it said, should be drawn from diverse specialised services to build institutional memory so that reforms outlast the transfer of officials, and consultations with domain experts were essential.

In its order, the Bench recorded that the NTA was transitioning from exam-specific units to a functional vertical structure to build specialised, domain-specific capabilities across core operational areas. It referred to a government affidavit stating that the agency's leadership had been upgraded with a secretary-level officer as Director-General, and that open recruitments were underway for specialists in departments including security, human resources and research and development.

The order noted that the NTA's senior leadership is drawn from the IAS, IPS and other Central services, and that its confidential operations have been moved to a dedicated 55,000 sq. ft. government facility at Minto Road in the national capital, secured by CISF personnel with advanced screening equipment.

The NTA has been under the Supreme Court's scrutiny since the 2026 question paper leaks, which affected nearly 23 lakh students, triggered protests and violence in the national capital, and led to the resignation of the then Education Minister. The task force was constituted to recommend technological reforms to make public examinations conducted by the NTA leak-proof. The court scheduled the next hearing in three weeks.