India tightens Aadhaar checks for bank exams after NEET scandal

The Department of Financial Services is tightening Aadhaar-based authentication for public-sector bank recruitment exams and giving candidates login access to response sheets and answer keys, three people familiar with the matter said. The changes target the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) examinations from the 2026-27 cycle.

The move follows the NEET controversy, which exposed lapses in exam conduct, result integrity, and candidate verification. The government is responding to demands for stricter safeguards across competitive examinations, the people said.

IBPS is the principal recruitment agency for public sector banks. SBI runs a separate hiring process. IBPS conducts four Common Recruitment Processes each year: probationary officer (PO) for officer-scale positions in nationalized banks; clerk recruitment for clerical roles; specialist officer (SO) for IT, law, marketing, HR, and agriculture; and RRB recruitment for Officer Scale I, II, III and Office Assistants across 28 regional rural banks.

Under the proposed framework, recruitment cycles across SBI, 11 state-run banks, and 28 RRBs would run sequentially. SBI results would come first, followed by nationalized banks, then RRBs. Within each category, officer-level results would precede clerical-level results.

The sequencing addresses a long-standing problem, according to government officials. Candidates who qualify for RRB positions often join those institutions after early results, then move to nationalized banks or SBI once those processes conclude. That creates vacancies and operational disruptions at RRBs. The new order is expected to help candidates make more informed career decisions while improving workforce planning, officials said.

In June 2025, DFS issued a notification authorizing IBPS to use Aadhaar authentication on a voluntary basis for verifying candidate identity during exams and recruitment. The 2026-27 cycle will make that implementation more stringent, the people said.

The overhaul comes as public-sector lenders ramp up hiring. PSBs selected and issued offer letters to 50,552 candidates through IBPS during FY26, a 33% increase over the previous year, according to official data. The recruitment covered both officers and clerical staff to support business growth, digital transformation, and customer service.

SBI alone plans to recruit about 18,000 employees during FY26, including junior associates, probationary officers, local bank officers, and specialists. Other nationalized banks and RRBs account for the remaining IBPS-process recruitments, the second person said.

The employee count of state-owned lenders rose 0.22% year-on-year to 757,641 as of March 31, 2025, from 756,015 in FY24. Private-sector banks recorded a 0.86% decline in employee strength, with headcount falling to 838,150 in FY25 from 845,407 in FY24, according to RBI data.

Queries emailed to spokespersons of the finance ministry, DFS, RBI, Indian Banks' Association, and 12 PSBs remained unanswered at press time.