Rajya Sabha passes bill to curb paper leakage and malpractice in recruitment exams

The bill, which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha, will now become a law after the accent, followed by the issue of notification.

He said transparency and fairness have also been ensured with the introduction of online examinations.

Recruitment exams: The Rajya Sabha on Friday passed “The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024”, aimed at curbing leakages, malpractices and organized malpractices in recruitment exams like UPSC, SSC, etc., and entrance tests like NEET, JEE and CUET. The bill, which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha, will now become a law after the accent, followed by the issue of notification.

Initiating the debate on the bill, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said, “The Public Examinations Bill, which is possibly the first of its kind in the history of the Indian Parliament, is dedicated to the youth of India. We have an interest in the youth of the country, who constitute the majority of 70% of the country's population. Their contribution is imperative for nation building in the next twenty years in the form of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat.”

“Prevention of Unfair Means Bill, 2024” will also cover entrance examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, the Staff Selection Commission, the Railways, banking recruitment examinations and all computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency.

The bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha on February 6 after an extensive discussion.

Stating that the bill is the first of its kind in the history of the Indian Parliament, Jitendra Singh said that this legislation aims to address a very recent phenomenon affecting the youth.

Participating in the debate, Congress' Digvijay Singh said the bill deals with a subject from the Concurrent List and called for its extension to states.

Wilson, DMK; Sandeep Kumar Pathak, AAP; Muzibulla Khan, BJD; V. Sivadasan, CPI(M); Amee Yajnik, Congress; Dinesh Sharma, BJP; Sandosh Kumar P., CPI, and Fauzia Khan, NCP also participated in the debate.

He said transparency and fairness have also been ensured through the introduction of online exams by UPSC, SSC and other recruitment agencies and the entire selection process has been reduced from one to two years to six to seven months.

“The level of merit of the new appointees has increased. The future of our youth under 40 years, who constitute 70% of our population, is at stake and they are stakeholders in the Viksit Bharat of 2047,” he said.