New Delhi: The Centre has appointed Mandeep K Bhandari, IAS, as Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on September 25. According to the order, the post of CBSE Chairperson has been temporarily upgraded to the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to accommodate the appointment.
Bhandari is currently Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and also holds charge as CEO of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. He is a 2001-batch AGMUT cadre officer. His earlier assignments in Jammu and Kashmir have included Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, and Commissioner/Secretary, Health and Medical Education.
Bhandari’s appointment comes after a series of changes in the leadership of CBSE this year.
In June, the Centre appointed Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, also a 2001-batch AGMUT IAS officer, as CBSE Chairperson, replacing Rahul Singh. The Centre also appointed Varun Bhardwaj as CBSE Secretary, replacing Himanshu Gupta.
However, the arrangement for Lokhande was revised within a month. In July, the Centre gave him additional charge of CBSE Chairperson while appointing him Additional Secretary in the Department of Home, Ministry of Home Affairs. The order said he would hold the additional charge until a regular incumbent was appointed or until further orders.
Bhandari’s appointment now fills that regular Chairperson position.
The latest appointment also comes amid wider changes in the senior leadership of the Ministry of Education.
In July, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister, following which the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, assigned the charge of the Ministry of Education to Pralhad Joshi, in addition to his existing portfolios.
There have also been changes at the secretary level. Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, a 1993-batch IAS officer, took charge as Secretary, Department of Higher Education, in August, replacing Vineet Joshi. The appointment followed a modification of an earlier order that had named Naresh Pal Gangwar for the post.
Ankita Mishra Bundela appointed in Higher Education
In another education-related appointment approved by the ACC on September 25, Ankita Mishra Bundela, IAS (AGMUT:2001), has been appointed Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
The ACC order states that Bundela, who was serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, will take up the new assignment at the Additional Secretary level by temporarily upgrading a vacant Joint Secretary post in the department.
The Department of Personnel and Training’s Executive Record Sheet identifies Bundela as a 2001-batch AGMUT IAS officer and records her current central deputation as Additional Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, from March 31, 2026.
Bundela has also previously worked in the education ministry. Her service record includes postings as Deputy Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Higher Education.
The two appointments give the Education Ministry new senior leadership at both the school-education board and higher-education administration levels, following several changes in the ministry and CBSE leadership in recent months.
