To prevent leaks, generate exam papers at the last minute from a massive question bank: Nilekani

Co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys Nandan Nilekani. File. | Photo Credit: PTI

Challenged with stemming the slew of question paper leaks that have threatened the credibility of India’s examination system, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has suggested a solution: create “a massive bank of questions”, and only generate the final paper at the last minute. 

He added that artificial intelligence could also be used to generate the question paper on the day of the examination itself. For any of this to work, of course, examinations will have to be held in computer-based test mode, abandoning the traditional pen-and-paper format.

Mr. Nilekani is the chairman of a six-member high-powered task force on exam reforms set up by the Union government in July.

‘Remove economic incentive to leak papers’

He was responding to a question on the security issues and weaknesses of the exam system observed by the task force, posed at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026 on Tuesday. 

“The issue that led to this committee is that of question paper leaks. Why do we need to have something called ‘a question paper’? Because that creates an economic incentive for it to be sold. One way to look at how to solve it is to have a massive bank of questions, and only at the last minute generate the question paper for the day,” Mr. Nilekani said.