Section 1. Short title and commencement

CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement . —(1) This Act may be called the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. (2) It shall come into force on such date[1] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. 1. 21[st ] June, 2024, vide notification NO. S.O. 2422(E), dated 21[st] June, 2024, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). (k) "public examination" means any examination conducted by the public examination authority, as specified in the Schedule, or conducted by such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government; (l) "public examination authority" means an authority as specified by the Central Government by a notification, from time to time for conducting the public examinations; (m) "public examination centre" means such premises, which is selected by the service provider or otherwise selected by the public examination authority, to be used for conduct of public examination and which, amongst others, may include any school, computer centre, institution, any building or part thereof and the same shall include the entire periphery and land appurtenant thereto which may be used for security and other related reasons for conduct of the public examinations; and (n)"service provider" means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, subcontractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, which is engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of public examination. (2) Words and expressions used herein but not defined and defined under any other law for the time being in force, shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in those laws.