Chhattisgarh Will Set The Benchmark For India's Purpose-Built Digital Examination Centres: Ashish Mittal

India's examination ecosystem is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With recruitment agencies and educational institutions increasingly adopting computer-based testing, the conversation has gradually moved beyond software platforms and digital processes to a more fundamental question: Is the country's examination infrastructure equipped for the future? While technology has transformed the way examinations are conducted, much of the physical infrastructure still relies on repurposed colleges, educational institutions, and temporary facilities that were never designed for high-stakes digital assessments.

Against this backdrop, purpose-built examination infrastructure is emerging as the next frontier in examination reforms. Chhattisgarh has taken a significant step in that direction by developing a 4,400-seat Aadarsh Centre for Digital Excellence in Nava Raipur under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Planned across 5.45 acres, the project is envisioned as one of India's largest dedicated computer-based examination campuses, reflecting a growing recognition that secure, technology-enabled examinations require infrastructure specifically designed for their unique operational and security needs.

The initiative also highlights a broader shift in thinking that Ashish Mittal, Founder & CEO of Innovatiview India Ltd., has consistently championed throughout his entrepreneurial journey. For Mittal, the future of examinations has never been limited to digital question papers or online testing platforms. It lies in creating integrated ecosystems in which infrastructure, technology, and security work together to ensure that every deserving candidate competes on a fair and transparent platform.

Born in Delhi, on March 24, 1990, Ashish Mittal pursued Electronics and Communication Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University) before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey at 21, with the conviction that technology could address some of India's most complex public challenges. As competitive examinations expanded in scale, so did concerns around identity fraud, impersonation, operational inconsistencies and infrastructure limitations. Rather than viewing these as isolated problems, Mittal recognised them as interconnected challenges requiring a holistic approach to examination management.

This vision eventually led to the establishment of Innovatiview India Ltd., which he co-founded with his college senior, Ankit Agarwal. Together, they set out to build technology-driven solutions that could strengthen trust in examinations by combining biometric authentication, artificial intelligence, surveillance systems and secure operational processes into a single ecosystem. Over the years, the company's work has expanded to include examination security, digital infrastructure, command-and-control centres, and AI-enabled monitoring, supporting large-scale examinations conducted by government agencies and public institutions across the country.

However, as computer-based testing continued to grow, Mittal increasingly emphasised another aspect of examination reforms, the need for infrastructure designed exclusively for examinations. In his view, temporary examination arrangements, while effective in meeting immediate requirements, cannot consistently deliver the standardisation, operational efficiency and security that modern digital examinations demand. Purpose-built centres, on the other hand, allow technology, security protocols and operational workflows to be integrated into the infrastructure itself, creating a more reliable and scalable examination environment.

The proposed Aadarsh Centre for Digital Excellence at Nava Raipur reflects that philosophy. Rather than adapting existing facilities, the campus has been conceived as a dedicated digital examination infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale computer-based examinations through standardised design and technology integration. As examination volumes continue to increase across India, such facilities have the potential to improve candidate experience, strengthen operational consistency and enhance the credibility of digital assessments.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project represents a broader shift in how governments approach examination preparedness. Dedicated examination campuses developed through collaborative models such as PPP demonstrate that digital examination infrastructure is increasingly being viewed as a long-term public asset rather than a temporary logistical requirement. For states seeking to expand secure computer-based testing capacity, this approach offers a scalable framework that balances technology, infrastructure and operational efficiency.

For Ashish Mittal, whose work has consistently centred on strengthening transparency and trust in examinations, the Nava Raipur project is a reflection of a larger vision rather than a standalone milestone. Alongside Co-Founder Ankit Agarwal, he has spent more than a decade advocating technology-led reforms that extend beyond surveillance or software to encompass the entire examination ecosystem. The proposed Aadarsh Centre for Digital Excellence represents that philosophy in practice, where thoughtfully designed infrastructure becomes an enabler of fairness, efficiency and institutional trust.

As India continues its transition towards a digitally driven examination ecosystem, projects such as Nava Raipur signal an important evolution in public infrastructure planning. They recognise that protecting merit is not solely dependent on technology deployed inside an examination hall, but equally on the environment in which that technology operates. In many ways, the project embodies Ashish Mittal's long-held belief that as examinations evolve, the infrastructure supporting them must evolve with equal purpose, creating systems that not only conduct examinations efficiently but also reinforce public confidence in the process's integrity.