India's public exams outsourced to private firms, over 690 million candidates
India's public exams are no longer just a government thing. Private companies now handle everything from setting up test centers to security.
In 2025, over 690 million candidates signed up for government and academic exams, but with so many private players involved, questions about fairness and transparency are growing.
India's exams face accountability gaps
Different companies manage different exam parts, making it hard to pinpoint who's responsible when things go wrong, like tech glitches or cheating scandals.
The government tried to fix this by introducing national standards and splitting up key tasks for better checks.
Still, issues like undertrained staff and high-tech cheating persist.
There's also talk of creating a national blacklist of shady firms after some were caught winning contracts even while banned in certain states.