Learning Spiral: How Manish Mohta is Digitizing India’s High-Stakes Exam Ecosystem and Reclaiming Millions of Learning Hours

In the high-pressure cauldron of Indian education, examinations are often the only variable that defines the destiny of entire families. For a candidate appearing for a Public Service Commission exam, a single question paper represents the potential to change three generations of social standing. Yet, the systems that manage these high-stakes events have long been plagued by logistical friction, manual errors, and the persistent threat of paper leakages. In a country where 3 million students might apply for 8,000 vacancies, the administrative burden of testing often pushes actual learning to the backseat, straining academic calendars to their breaking point.

Enter Manish Mohta, the founder of Learning Spiral. A Gold Medalist from the Delhi School of Engineering and an ISB alumnus, Manish has spent over 25 years navigating the conservative corridors of Indian higher education. From launching India’s first student portal in 1999 to digitizing the entry exams for the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), Manish is on a mission to "crash" examination timelines. By replacing physical logistics with encrypted digital transmission and AI proctoring, Learning Spiral is reclaiming millions of learning hours for the nation, ensuring that the focus remains on education, not just evaluation.

The Genesis: Surviving the 1999 Dot-Com Bust

Learning Spiral’s journey is as old as the Indian internet itself. Founded in 1999 as a campus startup, the company’s original goal was to create India’s first digital student portal. However, the timing was both visionary and premature. "Internet penetration never really happened for a decade and a half," Manish recalls. "In 2000, the bust happened, and our VC started asking for the remaining money back. It was a sad piece of history."

While his co-founders moved on, Manish stayed the course, flip-flopping through different business models until the Jio Revolution of 2016 finally provided the infrastructure for his vision. He realized that while universities were conservative, they were desperate for modernization. They didn't want to Leapfrog to the cloud immediately; they wanted to move from full manual to OMR and OCR scanning. This pragmatic "step-by-step" approach earned Manish the trust of university registrars who were previously skeptical of digital intervention.

The "CBT" Reality: Hybrid is the Indian Gold Standard

While the West talks about fully online testing, India relies on **Computer Based Tests (CBT)** that are uniquely hybrid. To ensure reliability despite power outages or intermittent internet, Learning Spiral uses local LAN servers at test centers that stay connected to the internet for monitoring but conduct the exam locally.

COVID-19 acted as the ultimate "Leap Frog" event for the industry. "People were forced to adopt proctored exams and online assessments," Manish says. "But unlike many EdTechs that saw a fall after the pandemic, our trajectory stayed high because we were agnostic to the mode of delivery. Whether it's pen-and-paper, hybrid, or fully digital, the underlying tech for evaluation and quality control remains essential."

Solving the Leakage Crisis: Encryption over Logistics

The recent "NEAT Fiasco" and frequent paper leaks in state boards have shaken public confidence in the examination system. Manish argues that the vulnerability isn't in the questions, but in the **logistics**. "Most leakages happen between the printing house and the center because printing happens a month in advance to allow for distribution," he explains. "You are giving miscreants 30 days to figure out a funny way to get the paper."

Learning Spiral’s digital transmission model reduces that window from 30 days to 30 minutes. By printing papers at the center itself, just an hour before the d-day, the window for error becomes too small to exploit. Furthermore, the system makes every touchpoint traceable, creating a digital audit trail that deters malpractices.

The Future: AI Formative Assessments and Learning Outcomes

As India moves towards the National Education Policy (NEP), the focus is shifting from high-stakes terminal exams to continuous learning outcomes. Manish is already integrating AI to provide Suggestive Grading for short answers and sentiment analysis for help desks.

"Nobody reads the manual," Manish laughs. "When you have 3 million applicants, your help desk is overwhelmed. AI now handles information dissemination through chatbots and email automation, ensuring that the right information reaches the student without them having to wait for a phone call that never gets picked up."

Manish’s Advice for the EdTech Entrepreneur

For Manish, entrepreneurship isn't about the valuation—it's about the **Impact**. He defines an entrepreneur as someone who creates value for a large number of people. "Valuation and profits are one aspect, but you need to see what kind of impact you are making on the world. That drive is what keeps you going when the money isn't there on day one."

Conclusion: Reclaiming the Academic Calendar

The story of Learning Spiral is a testament to the power of persistence. By surviving the dot-com crash and staying embedded in the Indian education landscape for over two decades, Manish Mohta has built more than just a software company; he has built a layer of trust for the nation's most sensitive processes. As Indian universities move toward global standards, the digitization of the exam ecosystem will be the cornerstone that ensures fairness, security, and—most importantly—the reclamation of millions of learning hours for the next generation.