Centre Appoints Two More Senior IRS Officers to NTA as Examination Body Undergoes Major Overhaul
The Centre has appointed IRS officers Anshuman Sharma as Joint Secretary and Sathiya S as Director in the National Testing Agency as part of its ongoing restructuring and examination reforms.
Efforts have been strengthened by the National Testing Agency (NTA), appointing two more senior Indian Revenue Service officers to key positions in the examination body. The latest move comes as the government continues with a broad restructuring exercise aimed at improving the agency’s manpower, accountability, examination security and overall functioning.
According to separate orders issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on August 28, Anshuman Sharma, IRS (IT:2005), has been appointed Joint Secretary in the NTA under the Department of Higher Education, while Sathiya S, IRS (IT:2011), has been appointed Director in the NTA. The appointments are part of a larger government effort to rebuild and strengthen the organisation after a series of controversies and concerns surrounding the conduct of national-level examinations.
Anshuman Sharma Appointed Joint Secretary in NTA
Anshuman Sharma, a 2005-batch Indian Revenue Service officer of the Income Tax cadre, has been appointed Joint Secretary in the National Testing Agency under the Department of Higher Education. He will hold the position for five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The appointment involves the temporary upgrading of an existing vacant post at the Deputy Secretary/Director level to the rank of Joint Secretary. According to the order, this upgradation has initially been approved for a period of two years, giving the government flexibility while strengthening the senior management structure of the examination agency.
Sharma’s appointment adds another experienced central government officer to the NTA at a time when the agency is attempting to expand its permanent leadership structure. The move is significant because the government has been looking to create a stronger institutional framework within the NTA rather than relying primarily on temporary arrangements and deputation-based manpower.
Sathiya S Gets Director-Level Responsibility
In a separate development, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sathiya S, IRS (IT:2011), as Director in the National Testing Agency.
Sathiya is currently serving as Director in the Ministry of Cooperation and has now been shifted to the NTA on a lateral-shift basis. She will continue in the new assignment until August 24, 2030, which represents the balance period of her existing five-year deputation at the Director level, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Her appointment gives the NTA another senior officer at the Director level as the organisation works through a substantial administrative transformation. The government has been filling several senior positions in quick succession as part of its plan to reinforce the agency’s leadership and operational capabilities.
More Senior Officers Joined NTA a Day Earlier
The latest appointments come just a day after another major round of senior-level appointments in the NTA. On August 27, the Centre appointed Prasanna Venkatesh V, IAS (AP:2012), and Ravi Kumar Singh, IPS (UT:2012), as Directors in the agency for five years.
At the same time, Amit Samdariya, IRS (C&IT:2016), was appointed Joint Director at the Deputy Secretary level for four years. These appointments brought officers from the IAS, IPS and IRS into the NTA’s senior management structure.
The latest additions of Anshuman Sharma and Sathiya S further expand this multi-service leadership team. Their appointments indicate the government’s focus on bringing officers with different areas of administrative and professional experience into an organisation that handles some of the country’s most important competitive and entrance examinations.
NTA Leadership Structure Expanding
With these latest appointments, the number of Directors appointed to the NTA since March 2025 has reached five. The Centre had earlier appointed Pawan Kumar Sharma and Vijaykumar Vinayakrao Patil as Directors, while Ashish Gupta was appointed Joint Director, on March 27, 2025.
Another round of appointments followed on May 16, 2026, when Akash Jain and Aditya Rajendra Bhojgadhiya were appointed Joint Directors. Anuja Bapat and Ruchita Vij were also appointed Joint Secretaries during that round of restructuring.
Following Anshuman Sharma’s appointment, three Joint Secretaries have now been appointed to the NTA since May 16. Sharma joins Bapat and Vij at the Joint Secretary level, further strengthening the agency’s senior administrative layer.
The numbers underline the scale of the restructuring underway inside the NTA. Rather than being an isolated round of transfers, the appointments form part of a continuing exercise to create a larger and more permanent leadership structure.
Why Is the Centre Restructuring NTA?
The changes are closely linked to the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, which examined issues surrounding the functioning of the NTA following examination-related controversies.
The committee, in its October 2024 recommendations, stressed the need to strengthen the agency’s permanent manpower and improve accountability. The government subsequently approved the creation of 16 new positions, with eight posts each at the Director and Joint Director levels.
The objective is to ensure that the NTA has sufficient experienced personnel to manage its expanding responsibilities. The agency conducts several high-stakes examinations that determine admission and eligibility for students across the country, making institutional reliability and examination integrity particularly important.
Examination System Also Undergoing Overhaul
The administrative appointments are taking place alongside significant changes to the NTA’s examination system itself. The Education Ministry said on August 17 that more than 50 NTA personnel had been removed, while the process of filling 10 professional leadership positions was underway.
The agency has also revamped its examination team. As part of the exercise, around 600 subject experts were removed and new experts brought on board, while a four-tier scrutiny mechanism for question papers has been introduced.
The additional measures are intended to strengthen checks at different stages of the examination process. Question-paper preparation and scrutiny are particularly sensitive areas, and the introduction of multiple levels of review is aimed at reducing the possibility of errors and improving the overall reliability of examinations.
The government also plans to induct another 20 to 25 officials, adding further manpower to the organisation as the restructuring progresses.
Many Permanent Posts Were Vacant
The scale of the manpower challenge became evident earlier this year when then Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed the Rajya Sabha on July 22 that 15 of the NTA’s 39 permanent posts were vacant.
The government has since accelerated recruitment and appointments. Between May 17 and July 25, the agency advertised 16 positions covering several specialised areas, including Chief Technology Officer, Chief Financial Officer and General Manager (Human Resources).
The NTA has also launched a recruitment drive for 16 young professionals. The emphasis on technology, finance, human resources and professional management reflects the changing nature of the agency’s responsibilities and the government’s attempt to build a more specialised institutional setup.
Focus Shifts Towards Accountability and Professional Management
The latest appointments suggest that the NTA’s restructuring is moving on several fronts simultaneously. Senior officers are being brought into leadership positions, permanent and professional posts are being filled, and changes are being introduced in the examination process.
For students and examination aspirants, the most important question will ultimately be whether these administrative changes translate into a more reliable and transparent examination system. The NTA conducts examinations on a massive scale, so even relatively small weaknesses in technology, logistics, manpower or security can have consequences for a large number of candidates.
The appointment of Anshuman Sharma as Joint Secretary and Sathiya S as Director, coming immediately after the induction of IAS, IPS and IRS officers into senior NTA positions, marks another step in the Centre’s continuing effort to reshape the agency.
With more senior officials expected to join and several specialised positions being filled, the NTA is now moving through one of the most extensive organisational overhauls since its establishment. The larger goal is clear – to build an examination body with stronger internal manpower, tighter scrutiny mechanisms and greater institutional accountability at a time when millions of students depend on its examinations for their academic and professional futures.
