Millions of students to resit their finals

India yesterday vowed to strengthen its online security after high school exam papers were leaked ahead of crucial tests, forcing millions of students to resit their finals.

Education Minister Prakash Javadekar said an investigation was underway into how the mathematics and economics papers were accessed and spread via WhatsApp before the exam.

"The criminals who did this won't be spared. I am sure police will catch these people soon. Let me assure that we will further improve the system and make it foolproof," he told reporters yesterday.

It is another embarrassment for a government which has weathered storms around alleged cracks in its Aadhaar system, a database containing the personal details of more than one billion Indians.

It comes as Facebook reels from a scandal over user data and India's ruling and main opposition parties accuse each other of mining and sharing followers' personal information.

The row erupted this weekend after a French security researcher flagged flaws with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal app, alleging that users' data was being shared without their consent.

The main opposition Congress party's Rahul Gandhi used the exam leak to revive the attack on Modi's administration over digital security.