Abhishek Singh, the former Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and CEO of the IndiaAI Mission, has been appointed the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) following a recent bureaucratic reshuffle.
NTA, which conducts major entrance examinations across the country, has been under pressure to strengthen its processes and credibility. It has faced repeated criticism and scrutiny over exam conduct, including paper leaks, delays, and errors. Among the most prominent controversies recently was the paper leak allegations during the 2024 NEET-UG exams, which triggered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
Meanwhile, the government has not announced a replacement for his role at the IndiaAI Mission.
As the head of the IndiaAI Mission, Singh spent the past few years focused on deploying AI at scale across public systems. During his tenure, India has activated 38,000 GPUs.
His approach centred on building shared infrastructure, expanding access to compute, and enabling startups and researchers to develop solutions suited to India’s linguistic and governance complexities.
His reassignment follows the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where Singh spoke about a sovereign AI approach focused on control over data and systems, without isolating India.
During his tenure at MeitY, Singh repeatedly highlighted the importance of building an indigenous AI ecosystem. He argued that India’s strength lies in combining its deep talent pool with large-scale public digital infrastructure, positioning the country to deploy AI solutions in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
Your reaction
Discussion
What's your take on this story?
No comments yet — be the first to share your view.