Who Is Pradeep Singh Kharola? 63-Year-Old IAS Officer To Lead NTA Amid NEET-NET Row

National Testing Agency's new DG Pradeep Singh Kharola is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Karnataka cadre.

New NTA DG Pradeep Singh Kharola is a 1985 batch IAS officer from Karnataka cadre.

NEET-NET Row: The Centre has appointed Pradeep Singh Kharola as the new Director General for the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday. The decision comes after the agency is facing crucial scrutiny over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in conducting the NEET-UG 2024 examinations. 

Ousting the current chief, Subodh Kumar, Kharola takes charge a day before over 1,500 candidates who had been given grace marks in the medical entrance examinations for undergrads are scheduled to take a retest. 

Who is Pradeep Singh Kharola? 

NTA's DG Kharola is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Karnataka cadre. Born on September 15, 1961, he hails from Uttarakhand’s Dehradun. The 63-year-old has served as the head of Air India, a role he assumed in November 2017. 

As per reports, during Kharola's tenure, the government failed in its first attempt to privatise Air India. 

In 2019, he was appointed as the new civil aviation secretary. 

Since 2022, he has been serving as the chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). 

Kharola has been assigned the additional charge of the testing agency until the appointment of a regular incumbent, reported PTI. 

Why NTA Made A Leadership Shift? 

Due to criticism about issues in competitive exams, the government on Saturday removed Subodh Singh, the head of the National Testing Agency (NTA). They also formed a seven-member committee, led by former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan, to review the NTA's operations and suggest exam improvements. 

As per an official cited by PTI, Subodh Kumar Singh is now on ‘compulsory wait’ in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) until further notice.