New Delhi: Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh, replying to the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha, said the proposed legislation is aimed at tackling all forms of malpractice in public examinations and is not confined solely to paper leaks.
Responding to the concerns raised by the Opposition during the debate, Dr. Singh said the legislation had been misunderstood by some members.
“The Opposition seems to have misread the Bill. This legislation is not limited to paper leaks alone; it covers the entire spectrum of possible unfair practices in public examinations,” he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh asserted that the Bill has been designed to strengthen the integrity, transparency and credibility of public examinations by addressing a wide range of unfair means that may compromise the examination process.
During his intervention, the Minister also criticized previous Congress-led governments over the issue of establishing a national testing mechanism. He said that despite recommendations made by high-level commissions, successive governments had failed to create a National Testing Agency for more than three decades.
“Successive Congress-led governments refused to set up a National Testing Agency for as long as 33 years, despite strong recommendations from high-level Commissions, notably in 1992 and 2010. The Opposition should, therefore, be grateful to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for having completed their unfinished task by establishing the National Testing Agency (NTA),” Dr. Singh said.
Highlighting the broader challenge of examination malpractices, the Minister said incidents of paper leaks have occurred over several years and across different states.
“The list of paper leak instances is long, extending over several years, with the latest paper leaks being reported from the states of Punjab and Karnataka,” he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh maintained that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 seeks to create a stronger legal framework to deter organized cheating, paper leaks and other fraudulent activities in public examinations, thereby enhancing public confidence in the examination system.
The Minister made the remarks while participating in the discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where members debated the proposed amendments aimed at further strengthening the law governing unfair means in public examinations.