The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) directed the Ministry of Education to ensure that the National Testing Agency (NTA) submits pending utilisation certificates (UCs) for ₹10 crore out of the ₹25 crore seed funding it received from the government at the time of its establishment in 2017.

The issue came up during the PAC’s examination of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on outstanding utilisation certificates. The committee, headed by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, asked the Ministry to ensure that the pending certificates are furnished within 60 days.

Under government rules, utilisation certificates are required to be submitted within 12 months of the close of the financial year in the case of non-recurring grants. The certificates enable the government to verify that public funds have been spent on purposes for which they were sanctioned. Failure to furnish utilisation certificates can lead to the blacklisting of grantee institutions.

The NTA, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in November 2017 as an autonomous and self-financing body, received a one-time financial assistance of ₹25 crore from the Centre at the time of its creation. According to the CAG report, utilisation certificates for ₹10 crore from this grant remain pending for the financial year 2018-19.

Officials from the Ministries of Finance and Education were present before the committee. Sources said Mr. Venugopal and several members questioned officials about the lapse and wanted to know if any examination-related activities had been affected as a result.

Members are learnt to have asked whether examination infrastructure, evaluation processes, security arrangements, manpower deployment, setting up of testing centres or other essential services were delayed, compromised or adversely affected. They also sought details of safeguards in place to ensure that deficiencies in financial management do not affect the fairness, reliability, transparency or timely conduct of examinations, thereby impacting students’ academic and career prospects. Officials from the Education Ministry assured the PAC that the NTA will be asked to furnish utilisation certificates within 60 days.

In a reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Union Education Ministry said the NTA reported an income of ₹504.16 crore and expenditure of ₹440.20 crore in 2019-20. Its income stood at ₹515.16 crore in 2020-21 and ₹508.47 crore in 2021-22, while expenditure was ₹436.25 crore and ₹426.52 crore respectively.

The CAG report further highlighted a wider problem across government departments, noting that Ministries continued to release grants without obtaining the mandatory utilisation certificates needed to confirm that funds had been used for the intended purpose. As of March 31 last year, nearly 34,000 utilisation certificates involving ₹54,282 crore were outstanding across 15 Ministries and departments.

Published - August 19, 2026 09:18 pm IST