National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh Wednesday said the challenge for the Agency this year will be to conduct the NEET-UG exam in West Asia and in poll-bound states, with the counting of votes scheduled for the day after the exam.Speaking to The Indian Express, Singh, a 1995-batch IAS officer who took charge as NTA Director General earlier this month, said, “Compared to last year, our major challenges this year are the war in the Middle East, and elections in the states. We have made elaborate arrangements… tied up state governments, district administrations, enforcement agencies to make sure that students are not inconvenienced.”Session two of JEE(Main), a computer-based test, was held in the first week of April in 15 cities abroad, including Riyadh, Sharjah, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Dammam. NEET-UG, scheduled to be held as a pen-and-paper exam on May 3, will also be conducted in centres abroad.“In some places (in the Middle East), flights were not operational, and academic institutions were shut. For JEE(Main), we had to create additional centres… Dubai said they couldn’t conduct the exam… the administration had shut down schools… do we had to create an additional centre in Sharjah. In Riyadh, there was the problem of a fire, and a centre couldn’t be made functional. Another centre was created in Dammam,” Singh said, adding that NEET-UG, being a pen-and-paper test, involves the logistics of ensuring question papers reach exam centres abroad securely, by coordinating with embassies there.“In India, we have robust arrangements across the country. Here, the challenge we are addressing is that May 3 is the (NEET-UG) exam, and May 4 is counting (of votes). Some centres where we normally would have conducted exams have become counting centres in the five states that voted. In West Bengal, the last polling day is April 29, and we will have to do mock drills for NEET-UG on May 1 and 2. That becomes a challenge,” he said.After the NEET-UG paper leak in 2024, the Centre had set up a protocol with enhanced security for the exam last year, including a police escort for the transport of question papers to exam centres. Similar measures are set to be followed this year, along with the mock drills to ensure security, and heightened coordination with district administrations and state governments.NEET-UG will be held across 5,432 centres this year.“Most centres this year are government centres; we have deployed government officers on duty. There is extensive deployment of biometrics and CCTV. We have doubled biometric machines to avoid a rush at centres. Last year, there was one biometric machine for 100 students. This time, there will be one for 48 students,” Singh said.Story continues below this adIn 2024, NEET-UG was not the only public exam that ran into trouble. UGC-NET was cancelled a day after it was held on the grounds that the paper may have been leaked on the darknet. CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG were also postponed that year in the wake of the NEET-UG paper leak.The Centre had then set up a committee headed by former Isro chief K Radhakrishnan to recommend measures for the smooth conduct of these exams. In its report, the committee drew parallels between the conduct of these exams and elections, and proposed a framework similar to that of elections for the exams. The committee had also pointed to computer-based testing with exams in multiple shifts as the preferred mode of examination. For NEET-UG, which is held in a single session on one day, infrastructure for computer-based testing has been a concern.Transition ahead?Asked whether NEET-UG can eventually transition to computer-based testing mode, Singh said: “The committee has recommended it, but a call will have to be taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Infrastructure will come up when there’s a demand, and the number of (test) days will go up.”Singh, who was CEO of the IndiaAl Mission and played a key role in organising the Al Summit, also plans on making Al interventions at the NTA, beginning with a platform for Al-based resolution of complaints and dissemination of information.Story continues below this ad“We have expanded outreach. We’ll be building on Al interventions here… for easier resolution of issues. In manual mode, by the time an issue is escalated, we’ve lost time. Time is of the essence. We’re also working towards improving our outreach, communications, eliminating elements of doubt, anxiety, misinformation, and acting against unscrupulous elements…” Singh said, adding that the focus is on transparency, and “zero-error exams”.“Al can also be used for data analytics… how students are performing, are exams too difficult,” Singh said, adding that anything new can only be built after the NTA is done with peak exam season in April and May.