Jul 13, 2026 02:10 PM IST NEET 2026 OMR Sheet Live Updates: NTA should get statutory status, says parliamentary panel Members of a parliamentary standing committee on Wednesday pushed for granting statutory status to the National Testing Agency (NTA), arguing that the examination body needs stronger legal powers and institutional independence to single-handedly manage large-scale tests such as the NEET-UG.
Statutory status refers to an organisation being established through an Act of Parliament, giving it a legal mandate, defined powers, autonomy, and accountability structures that are far more robust than those available to bodies registered under the Societies Registration Act.
Currently, the NTA operates as an autonomous organisation under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 — a framework that, critics argue, does not vest it with adequate independent authority to manage the scale and sensitivity of national examinations it conducts.
The Parliamentary Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports — now headed by Congress member Mukul Wasnik — convened its first meeting under his chairmanship to examine the conduct of the NEET-UG re-examination and explore what structural reforms the NTA requires going forward.
