Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Tapan Deka, a native of Barpeta in Assam, has been appointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-powered task force on examination reforms, placing an Assamese expert at the centre of efforts to restore trust in national competitive tests after the NEET UG 2026 paper leak. The multidisciplinary panel, headed by technology expert Nandan Nilekani, has been constituted to recommend structural and technology-driven changes to India’s examination system.
Deka is a 1988-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. Born on February 25, 1963, in Sarthebari, he holds a master’s degree in physics from the University of Delhi and joined the IPS thereafter.
He served as Director of the Intelligence Bureau from June 2022 to June 2026; his tenure was extended twice by the Centre. During that period he oversaw several national security operations, experience the government says will inform the panel’s work on security and fraud prevention.
Officials expect Deka’s expertise in dismantling organised criminal networks and strengthening security mechanisms to help the committee design safeguards against paper leaks, impersonation and organised examination fraud-problems highlighted by the NEET UG 2026 controversy.
Alongside Nilekani and Deka, the committee includes former ISRO chairman S. Somnath, IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti, former education secretary Anita Karwal and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena, among other domain specialists. The panel is charged with overhauling the National Testing Agency’s examination framework, with a strong emphasis on technological and institutional reforms.
Prime Minister Modi announced the committee in a video message and an Instagram reel, saying the task force will work to make India’s examination system more trustworthy, transparent and technology-driven, and that the government will act on its recommendations “at the earliest.” He also said a new law with stringent legal provisions to tackle examination-related malpractices will be introduced in Parliament.
The announcement came a day after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned amid nationwide protests over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak and the subsequent re-examination. With Deka representing Assam on the panel, the state now holds a notable voice in shaping future exam safeguards and reforms.
