Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced setting up an autonomous National Testing Agency for conducting entrance exams to higher education institutions.

"We propose to set up a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing agency to conduct all entrance exams to higher education," Jaitley said presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha.

"This would free the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the All India Council for Technical Education from administrative responsibility, so that they can focus more on academics," he added.