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India's Lok Sabha passes anti-paper leak bill to toughen penalties after Neet protests
Changes were proposed to the Public Examinations Act, a law made in 2024 after similar Neet exam leaks
- PUBLISHED: Wed 29 Jul 2026, 3:56 PM
India's Lok Sabha, or Lower Parliament, has passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill to toughen penalities on those conducting examination fraud.
This move comes after youth protests against the Neet exam leak shook the nation. Changes were proposed to the Public Examinations Act, a law made in 2024 after similar Neet exam leaks, to strengthen the examination system while ensuring speedy trials and time-bound investigations.
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The 2024 law prescribed penalties for a range of violators, including those resorting to unfair means, firms involved in helping conduct the exam, and those at the examination authority.
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The amendments proposed would increase the minimum prison term for culprits from three years to five years, and raise the maximum fine five-fold, from 10 million rupees to 50 million rupees.
The ban on firms found guilty would double to eight years.
Following the protests, Modi also announced a "high-powered panel" headed by technology expert Nandan Nilekani to focus on examination reforms, saying the government aims to make the "greatest possible use of technology" to strengthen the system.
Nilekani is an entrepreneur best known for leading the creation of India's digital identity system Aadhaar and co-founding software major Infosys.
Based on the panel's recommendations, steps will be taken "as quickly as possible" to ensure the "credibility and reliability" of examinations, Modi said on Sunday.
Following the Neet exam leaks in 2024, the government had constituted a panel of experts that made 101 recommendations in its report submitted that October.
The recommendations, however, are still being implemented, with several key suggestions yet to be rolled out, including a transition from pen-and-paper to computer-based testing, and holding examinations in multiple shifts.
The committee's head told the Supreme Court in May that most of its key recommendations had either been implemented or were in the process of being implemented.
[With inputs from Reuters]
