New Delhi: Mismatch in data provided by the Union government of National Testing Agency’s (NTA) expenditure over the years has triggered a privilege motion in parliament by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP V. Sivadasan. The motion is against junior education minister Sukanta Majumdar.“It is clear that the data of income and expenditure for specific years are different in the replies to my question and that of Mr Tankha. Both sets of data cannot be correct. It means the government has misled Parliament. It is a breach of privilege,” Sivadasan told the Telegraph.“Members have the right to receive truthful, accurate and consistent information from the government to enable them to discharge their parliamentary responsibilities effectively. Providing inconsistent or incorrect information tends to mislead the House and hinder the members in the discharge of their parliamentary duties. Thereby, it constitutes a breach of the privileges of the House and the members,” he said.NTA conducts university entrance, medical (NEET), engineering and fellowship examinations. It is administered by the Union education ministry. Its July 22, 2026 response in Rajya Sabha, to a question asked by Sivadasan, does not match those supplied in an earlier response in parliament dated July 31, 2024, for the same financial years. The earlier query was raised by Vivek K. Tankha of the Congress party.Already, the NTA’s failure to conduct examinations and paper leaks has led to a widespread student and youth agitation demanding the resignation of the Union education minister, which happened late last week.The government’s 2026 response in parliament reports consistently higher income as well as expenditure figures across 2019-20 to 2023-24. The difference ranges from about Rs 16 crore in 2019-20 to over Rs 51 crore in 2023-24.Rajya Sabha unstarred question answered on July 22, 2026.There are also discrepancies in reported expenditure. The figures for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are more or less identical in both responses, but the 2026 reply reports higher expenditure for 2019-20 (by about Rs 50.2 crore), 2020-21 (by about Rs 8.3 crore), and 2023–24 (by about Rs 20.6 crore).Rajya Sabha unstarred question answered on July 21, 2026.The NTA has not explained in either response why the figures might differ between the two responses. It only specifies that the figures for 2022-23 are estimates. The only source of its income is examination fees. The body has always been controversial for it has come to represent the centralisation and homogenisation of eduction across the country. There have, of late, been demands for it to withdraw from the education testing field.Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar also told Rajya Sabha in the response to Sivadasan (July 2026) that 15 out of 39 sanctioned posts in the National Testing Agency (NTA) remain vacant.Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar’s reply in parliament on July 22, 2026.“Running such a critical centralised body without a single dedicated, permanent cadre is a massive administrative failure that directly impacts students,” Sivadasan had said in a statement based on the same parliament reply. The response, as The Wire reported, also stated that the exam body has just 24 employees. It also said that since inception in 2018, NTA has conducted over 270 examinations covering more than 6.6 crore candidate registrations – 65 lakh just in 2026.According to the junior education minister’s reply, 73 people are working on contract, among them a general manager of communication along with various senior advisors and consultants, while another 124 workers have been outsourced to handle everything from data analysis and legal matters to housekeeping.Sixteen additional posts at the director and joint director level have been sanctioned under the Central Staffing Scheme but the government is filling them through deputation rather than hiring permanent workforce.