Trust Reset

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity,...

min read

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity, social mobility and professional ambition. For millions of students across the country, a competitive examination represents years of sacrifice by families and the possibility of a better future. When question papers leak repeatedly, evaluation systems fail or allegations of manipulation emerge, the resulting damage strikes at the idea of fairness itself. The crisis surrounding NEET-UG exposed uncomfortable vulnerabilities in the country’s examination infrastructure. The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the subsequent appointment of Pralhad Joshi with additional charge of the ministry underlined the political seriousness of the issue. But political accountability alone cannot fix a structural problem. That is why the composition of the new task force is a move on the right direction. It brings together expertise from technology, space research, intelligence, education administration and logistics. Nilekani’s appointment is particularly significant. The former Infosys chief executive and architect of Aadhaar has experience in building large-scale digital public infrastructure involving hundreds of millions of citizens. The Aadhaar project itself was born out of a similar challenge: how to create a reliable identity system in a country where leakages and duplication weakened welfare delivery. India’s examination system now requires the same kind of thinking. The committee’s mandate to examine the entire examination lifecycle - from question paper creation and distribution to candidate verification, evaluation and results - is the right approach. The problem lies in multiple weak points where human intervention, poor security protocols and outdated processes can create opportunities for malpractice. Technology will inevitably be central to the solution. Artificial intelligence can help detect unusual patterns, blockchain-based verification can strengthen record security and better data systems can improve transparency. But a secure examination system requires independent oversight, professional management, clear accountability and swift punishment for wrongdoing. India’s National Testing Agency was created to bring efficiency and standardisation to public examinations. Its credibility must now be restored through reforms that are visible and trusted by students. The Nilekani task force has been given the difficult job of repairing that trust. The government has chosen a committee led by people with experience of managing complex national systems. It is a sensible first step. The real test will now be whether its recommendations translate into action.

Silent Moves

Correspondent
Jun 7
2 min read

R. Praggnanandhaa’s stunning victory at the Norway Chess tournament is more than just another glittering addition to India’s growing collection of chess triumphs. It is a reminder that excellence in Indian sport often flourishes far from cricketing floodlights.

By becoming the first Indian ever to win the prestigious Norway Chess tournament, the 20-year-old grandmaster achieved something that had eluded even the great Viswanathan Anand. He did so in emphatic fashion after recovering from a poor start, winning four classical games in succession, defeating some of the world’s finest players and twice overcoming Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian titan, on his home turf. Few victories in Indian sport this year can match its difficulty or significance.

Contrast this with a cricketer struck a match-winning six in a key IPL playoff. Television studios would have erupted and advertising campaigns would have flowed while social media would have convulsed into celebration. Praggnanandhaa’s conquest of one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world has received wholesome admiration, but has little of the national frenzy reserved for cricket’s carnival.

This is not an argument against the IPL. The league is a remarkable commercial success that has transformed cricketing economics. The problem is that India’s sporting imagination has become dangerously parochial. In a nation of 1.4 billion people, too much attention, money and airtime is still lavished on a single game.

Chess offers a revealing contrast. India today is experiencing a golden age that would have seemed fanciful a generation ago. Anand opened the door and a remarkable cohort has marched through it. D. Gukesh became the youngest world champion. Arjun Erigaisi has entered the game’s elite ranks and now, Praggnanandhaa continues to challenge the very best. Among women, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh have kept India among the world’s strongest chess nations.

And yet these champions, while certainly lauded, remain curiously under-celebrated as opposed to cricket stars. The same phenomenon, to a lesser or greater degree, can be observed in athletics, shooting and table tennis. Athletes often labour for years with modest sponsorship, uncertain funding and limited public recognition. They become household names only during Olympic cycles, before slipping once more into relative obscurity. Their success is celebrated episodically.

Chess rewards patience over spectacle and intellect over celebrity. Its heroes spend countless hours studying openings, analysing positions and enduring lonely defeats. The game’s virtues are not television-friendly. Chess players do not command billion-dollar broadcasting deals but rely on sheer talent and an extraordinary capacity for concentration.

India’s recent chess renaissance reflects something encouraging about modern India. It demonstrates that world-class achievement can emerge from coaching networks, digital learning and institutional persistence rather than from lavish leagues alone.

Praggnanandhaa’s victory in Oslo is far more than a personal milestone. It is evidence that India can dominate global arenas beyond cricket. The country need not love cricket less. But it ought to learn to celebrate other forms of greatness more.

Trust Reset

Silent Moves

Recent Posts

Comments