From Rs 101 crore to Rs 1065 crore… NTA’s fee earning increased 10 times in 6 years

CJP (Cockroach Justice Platform) protest continues at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar regarding NEET paper leak, transparency in examination and increasing pressure on students. Students and various organizations are raising questions on the functioning, exam security and accountability of NTA. Meanwhile, an official reply given by the government in Parliament last year has again come into discussion. In response to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha on July 31, 2024, the Education Ministry had told that how much the National Testing Agency (NTA) earned every year through application fees since its inception and how much was spent on it.

Now during the CJP movement, these figures are becoming increasingly viral on social media and a new debate has started regarding them. Rajya Sabha MP Vivek K Tankha had asked the government how much income NTA has earned year-on-year through application forms and other services since its inception, whether any part of the examination conduct is given to private agencies and how many posts are sanctioned and vacant in NTA.

How are the expenses of NTA?

In response, Minister of State for Education Dr. Sukant Majumdar said that NTA was established in 2018 and since then it has organized more than 240 examinations in which more than 5.4 crore candidates appeared. The government also said that NTA is a self-sustaining institution, that is, its expenses are mainly borne by the examination fees. But, the figures of fee income given in this answer have now raised new questions, because the fee income of NTA has increased manifold in six years.

The figures revealed-

• 2018-19: Fee income Rs 101.51 crore
• 2023-24 (estimated): Fee income Rs 1,065.38 crore
• Fee income increased more than 10 times in 6 years
• NTA conducted more than 240 exams as per government
• More than 5.4 crore candidates appeared in these examinations.

What does the official reply say?

According to the answer given in Rajya Sabha, there has been a continuous increase in the fee income of NTA. While the agency’s fee income was Rs 101.51 crore in 2018-19, it increased to Rs 488.08 crore in 2019-20. After this, it reached Rs 494.46 crore in 2020-21, Rs 490.35 crore in 2021-22, Rs 873.20 crore in 2022-23 and an estimated Rs 1,065.38 crore in 2023-24. This means that in six years there has been an increase of about 10 times in the income from fees, that is, there has been an increase of about Rs 964 crore in just six years.

Expenses also increased, but debate on fees

According to the government, NTA uses biometric testing, frisking, CCTV surveillance and AI technology to prevent irregularities in competitive examinations. Services of experienced private agencies are also taken for these works, so that fake candidates can be identified and the examination can be conducted in a fair manner. It was also informed that apart from the permanent employees in NTA, 22 employees are posted on deputation. Whereas 39 employees are working on contract and 132 employees are working through outsourcing.

How much is the exam fee?

1. Application fees are also charged from candidates for the major entrance examinations of NTA. For example, in NEET-UG 2026, the application fee for General category candidates has been fixed at Rs 1,700, for OBC-NCL and EWS categories at Rs 1,600, while for SC, ST, PwBD and third gender candidates, the application fee has been fixed at Rs 1,000.
2. Whereas for JEE Main 2026 (one paper), male candidates of general category who choose the examination center in India have to pay an application fee of Rs 1,000 and female candidates have to pay Rs 800. For male candidates of Gen-EWS and OBC-NCL category, this fee is Rs 900, while for SC, ST and PwD category candidates, the application fee has been fixed at Rs 500.

Why is this issue being raised in CJP’s protest?

The demand of the students in the ongoing CJP protest at Jantar Mantar is not limited to the investigation of NEET paper leak. The protesters are demanding transparency, accountability and reforms in the examination system. Meanwhile, government figures related to the fee income of NTA are being shared on social media. Students and their parents from many parts of the country have participated in this demonstration.

Establishment of National Testing Agency

National Testing Agency (NTA) was established by the Ministry of Education in 2018. Its objective is to conduct the entrance examinations across the country in a fair, transparent and according to uniform standards. NTA is an independent and autonomous body, which operates mainly through examination fees. The agency claims that it tries to make the examinations more reliable and transparent by using modern technology and research-based evaluation system.

What is the responsibility of NTA?

NTA conducts major examinations for admission to many big colleges and universities of the country. These include exams like NEET-UG, JEE Main, CUET-UG, CUET-PG, UGC-NET, NCET, CSIR-UGC NET and SWAYAM. According to the government, NTA is operated mainly from the examination fees charged from the candidates. From this income, examination organization, technical arrangements, security management and other administrative expenses are met.