Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 29: The Centre on Friday appointed five officials to key positions in the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has faced criticism over the alleged NEET paper leak and other examination-related concerns.
The appointments were announced by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, covering the posts of one Joint Secretary, one Joint Director and three Directors.
The appointments are part of the ongoing restructuring of the NTA, with the Centre seeking to strengthen the agency and replace contractual personnel with permanent officials to improve accountability.
According to the order issued by the Cabinet Committee, Anshuman Sharma, a 2005-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, has been appointed Joint Secretary in the NTA for a five-year tenure. The vacant post of Director has been upgraded to the level of Joint Secretary.
Amit Samdariya, a 2016-batch Customs and Indirect Tax officer, has been appointed Joint Director, equivalent to the rank of Deputy Secretary, for five years. He was recommended for central deputation by the Department of Revenue.
IPS officer Ravi Kumar Singh, a 2012-batch officer, has been appointed Director for a five-year tenure. His central deputation was recommended by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Sathiya S, a 2011-batch Income Tax officer currently serving as Director, Co-operation, has been appointed Director in the NTA on a lateral-shift basis. Her tenure will run until August 24, 2030.
V Venkatesh Prasanna has also been appointed as Director in the NTA for a period of five years.
The latest appointments follow the Centre's decision on May 16 to appoint two Joint Directors and two Joint Secretaries to the NTA on an immediate basis.
The restructuring comes in the wake of concerns surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 examination, including allegations of a question paper leak and irregularities.
A seven-member committee headed by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, which examined the reasons behind the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, had recommended the recruitment of permanent staff in the NTA to establish greater accountability.
A parliamentary panel in December 2025 had also called for strengthening the organisation internally.
The Supreme Court had recently questioned why the NTA was functioning with a relatively small workforce of only around 30 to 40 officials, highlighting concerns over its capacity to handle the country's major entrance examinations.
The latest appointments are expected to form part of wider measures to strengthen the NTA's administrative structure and improve transparency, accountability and examination management.