<div>Micro hearing devices just like tiny buds that can easily be slid into the ears and comfortably placed at a location no one can see from outside, pen fitted with discreet scanner and camera, eye glasses with micro camera, shirts fitted with micro chips for communication, undergarments, lockets, ear and nose pins for girls and what not that one can imagine.<br /> <br />All these innovative products specially designed for students to facilitate cheating in examinations are available in the market in many cities at quite an affordable price. Powered by Bluetooth, these items are being sold rampantly right under the nose of the authorities concerned.<br /><br />Producers and suppliers of these items are making a fortune as large number of students are buying these devices, costs of which range from Rs 7,000 to about Rs 1 lakh, depending on their quality.<br /><br />With the advancement in technology, the hi-tech spy communication devices are increasingly becoming a popular choice for cheating in examinations in India.<br /><br />By just searching the key words—“cheat in exam in India”—on Google, one can easily get a whole list of suppliers along with their contact details and easily buy the products.<br /><br />“We don’t know how many students have secured seats in engineering and medical colleges or secured a government job using such devices. We keep hearing people buying such equipment for tests,” a civil services aspirant, Ashwini (name changed), told Deccan Herald, blaming the authorities for their laxity.<br /><br /> Social media is the prime platform for the suppliers to popularise their products and attract buyers online. The offer for “home delivery” with an option for payment on delivery of equipment is helping some of these suppliers gain an edge over their competitors.<br /><br />“You can buy a micro earpiece along with a necklace. Buying a shirt fitted with a discreet SIM card will be another good choice for you. It costs Rs 18,000 but you can buy it at Rs 12,000 because we are offering a discount now,” a supplier in Delhi said, when contacted over phone as a student.<br /><br />Another supplier, while giving demonstration of a “cheating device” which looked like ordinary eye glasses explained, “You just have to turn this switch on as you enter the hall. Take pictures of the test paper and instantly send it to the one helping you from outside.”<br /><br />He further demonstrated as to how a person equipped with the micro chip and earphones can easily communicate with someone connected through a mobile phone, no matter if he is sitting somewhere thousands of miles away.<br /><br />“Even if you whisper, the person on other side will clearly hear your voice. Many students have successfully used these products,” he added.<br /><br />Several cases of mass cheating with the use of Bluetooth-enabled discreet devices in competitive examinations have come to light since 2014.<br /><br />Many students have been arrested and booked by the police after being caught with such devices during examinations conducted by various bodies including the Staff Selection Commission and the Union Public Service Commission in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh.<br /><br />However, the sense of urgency to check the rising menace continues to be very poor, even as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had to re conduct the All India Pre-Medical and Dental Test (AIPMT) on a Supreme Court order after an incident of mass cheating with the use of Bluetooth-enabled devices came to light last year.<br /><br />Issuing a notification on February 10 this year, the Union Cabinet allowed the examination bodies to install low-potential jammers at sensitive examination centres to prevent cheating.<br /><br />Failed measure<br />On February 29, Bihar witnessed the authorities making more than 1100 candidates strip down to their underwear and take the written examination for recruitment in the Army, sitting in an open ground in Muzaffarpur district. The bizarre decision was taken by a local officer because there was a possibility that some of the candidates might have come prepared with discreet micro devices in their clothes for cheating.<br /><br />“It is very difficult to install jammer as per the conditions put by the Cabinet. It requires submission of a list of sensitive test centres well in advance to the approved suppliers of jammers. Now identification of sensitive test centres is itself a complicated task. It’s not that easy as it looks,” a senior official said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />Another official said that allowing examination bodies to purchase the equipment will only be a waste of money because it will have to be upgraded every time an examination is held.<br /><br />“The government will have to come out with a robust plan and strategy, instead of leaving it solely on the test conducting bodies,” he added.<br /><br />The CBSE, gearing up to conduct a free and fair AIPMT next month, has banned the candidates from brining a list of items with them including ear pins and even a scarf. <br /><br />Besides, plans to buy 1 lakh clocks for examination halls and also pens, it is also in the process of buying metal detectors and other equipment to check use of micro devices in cheating. However, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.<br /><br />“You can buy our micro walkie-talkie. It’s a new device we have developed. This can be fitted with anything and would not be blocked by a jammer. Metal detectors too would not be able to locate it. However, the person who will communicate with you through this device, will have to be somewhere within 1 km range. It will cost you just Rs 15,000,” a Delhi-based supplier of “cheat devices” said, while giving details of various products.</div>
<div>Micro hearing devices just like tiny buds that can easily be slid into the ears and comfortably placed at a location no one can see from outside, pen fitted with discreet scanner and camera, eye glasses with micro camera, shirts fitted with micro chips for communication, undergarments, lockets, ear and nose pins for girls and what not that one can imagine.<br /> <br />All these innovative products specially designed for students to facilitate cheating in examinations are available in the market in many cities at quite an affordable price. Powered by Bluetooth, these items are being sold rampantly right under the nose of the authorities concerned.<br /><br />Producers and suppliers of these items are making a fortune as large number of students are buying these devices, costs of which range from Rs 7,000 to about Rs 1 lakh, depending on their quality.<br /><br />With the advancement in technology, the hi-tech spy communication devices are increasingly becoming a popular choice for cheating in examinations in India.<br /><br />By just searching the key words—“cheat in exam in India”—on Google, one can easily get a whole list of suppliers along with their contact details and easily buy the products.<br /><br />“We don’t know how many students have secured seats in engineering and medical colleges or secured a government job using such devices. We keep hearing people buying such equipment for tests,” a civil services aspirant, Ashwini (name changed), told Deccan Herald, blaming the authorities for their laxity.<br /><br /> Social media is the prime platform for the suppliers to popularise their products and attract buyers online. The offer for “home delivery” with an option for payment on delivery of equipment is helping some of these suppliers gain an edge over their competitors.<br /><br />“You can buy a micro earpiece along with a necklace. Buying a shirt fitted with a discreet SIM card will be another good choice for you. It costs Rs 18,000 but you can buy it at Rs 12,000 because we are offering a discount now,” a supplier in Delhi said, when contacted over phone as a student.<br /><br />Another supplier, while giving demonstration of a “cheating device” which looked like ordinary eye glasses explained, “You just have to turn this switch on as you enter the hall. Take pictures of the test paper and instantly send it to the one helping you from outside.”<br /><br />He further demonstrated as to how a person equipped with the micro chip and earphones can easily communicate with someone connected through a mobile phone, no matter if he is sitting somewhere thousands of miles away.<br /><br />“Even if you whisper, the person on other side will clearly hear your voice. Many students have successfully used these products,” he added.<br /><br />Several cases of mass cheating with the use of Bluetooth-enabled discreet devices in competitive examinations have come to light since 2014.<br /><br />Many students have been arrested and booked by the police after being caught with such devices during examinations conducted by various bodies including the Staff Selection Commission and the Union Public Service Commission in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh.<br /><br />However, the sense of urgency to check the rising menace continues to be very poor, even as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had to re conduct the All India Pre-Medical and Dental Test (AIPMT) on a Supreme Court order after an incident of mass cheating with the use of Bluetooth-enabled devices came to light last year.<br /><br />Issuing a notification on February 10 this year, the Union Cabinet allowed the examination bodies to install low-potential jammers at sensitive examination centres to prevent cheating.<br /><br />Failed measure<br />On February 29, Bihar witnessed the authorities making more than 1100 candidates strip down to their underwear and take the written examination for recruitment in the Army, sitting in an open ground in Muzaffarpur district. The bizarre decision was taken by a local officer because there was a possibility that some of the candidates might have come prepared with discreet micro devices in their clothes for cheating.<br /><br />“It is very difficult to install jammer as per the conditions put by the Cabinet. It requires submission of a list of sensitive test centres well in advance to the approved suppliers of jammers. Now identification of sensitive test centres is itself a complicated task. It’s not that easy as it looks,” a senior official said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />Another official said that allowing examination bodies to purchase the equipment will only be a waste of money because it will have to be upgraded every time an examination is held.<br /><br />“The government will have to come out with a robust plan and strategy, instead of leaving it solely on the test conducting bodies,” he added.<br /><br />The CBSE, gearing up to conduct a free and fair AIPMT next month, has banned the candidates from brining a list of items with them including ear pins and even a scarf. <br /><br />Besides, plans to buy 1 lakh clocks for examination halls and also pens, it is also in the process of buying metal detectors and other equipment to check use of micro devices in cheating. However, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.<br /><br />“You can buy our micro walkie-talkie. It’s a new device we have developed. This can be fitted with anything and would not be blocked by a jammer. Metal detectors too would not be able to locate it. However, the person who will communicate with you through this device, will have to be somewhere within 1 km range. It will cost you just Rs 15,000,” a Delhi-based supplier of “cheat devices” said, while giving details of various products.</div>
