NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has started a major recruitment drive as part of administrative reforms introduced in the wake of the NEET paper leak and reported irregularities in other exams. The agency has dismissed 47 officials and started the process of appointing senior professionals and young professionals to strengthen transparency, accountability and institutional capacity.Operating under the Ministry of Education, the NTA has advertised for the recruitment of four General Managers for key functional areas. At the same time, it has opened for the first time the recruitment of 16 Young Professionals through the Pratibha Setu portal of the UPSC. The exercise marks the first major institutional reform carried out following the recommendations made by the high-level expert committee chaired by Professor K. Radhakrishnan.Four general managers to oversee critical functionsThe Director General of Assessment and Psychometrics Research and Development will oversee question bank development, exam standardization, equating and calibration processes, Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) and AI-based assessment systems.The Test Center Network Operations General Manager will manage the exam centers in over 500 cities across India and select international locations. Responsibilities include quality standards, capacity planning, facilities for differently abled candidates, examination day arrangements and coordination with state and district administrations.The General Director of Information Security will act as the NTA’s information security officer. The role includes ensuring compliance with cyber security protocols, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, the IT Act 2000, CERT-In guidelines and overseeing a 24/7 security operations centre.Young Professionals to be appointed through the UPSC portalThe NTA will hire 16 Young Professionals through the UPSC Pratibha Setu portal, including 12 positions in academic research, two in legal research and two in finance and accounting. Appointments will initially be for 24 months and may be extended to 36 months based on performance.NTA recruitment 2026: Vacancy data
Further reforms planned under the recommendations of the expert committeeThe agency stated that it will pursue additional recruitment in line with the 10 functional verticals recommended by the expert committee. It also plans to establish a new panel of experts and translators in the field in the coming weeks.UPSC Pratibha Setu, formerly known as Public Disclosure Scheme, publishes details of candidates who cleared the written examinations but were not recommended after the interviews. Introduced on August 20, 2018, the scheme covers candidates from examinations such as Civil Services, Indian Forest Service, Central Armed Police Forces, Engineering Services, Combined Geoscientist, CDS, Indian Economic Service, Indian Statistical Service and Combined Medical Services.