Public Examination Bill 2024
According to sources, the Union Cabinet has approved the draft of the Bill, and it is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Friday or on Monday. The Bill, piloted by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, will cover all recruitment and entrance exams such as Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railways, and banking recruitment exams, Common University Entrance Test (CUET), National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). All the computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) will come under the purview of the Bill, it is learnt.
The Bill proposes minimum three to five years of imprisonment, however, for cases of organised crimes, the Bill proposes imprisonment of five-10 years. For organised crimes, the Bill also proposes a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore. For service provider firms in examinations, a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, and recovery of proportionate cost of examination have been proposed as punishment. The firm will also be barred from conduct of public examination for four years.
