The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, replacing Vineet Joshi, who has been shifted to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj
as Secretary. The bureaucratic reshuffle comes at a time when students have been protesting against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and demanding greater accountability and examination reforms.
While the government has not officially linked the transfer to the ongoing protests, the timing has drawn significant attention.
Who Is Naresh Pal Gangwar?
Naresh Pal Gangwar is a 1994-batch IAS officer. Before his latest appointment, he served as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
An engineer by training, Gangwar has a strong academic background. He holds a BTech in Electronics and Communication from the University of Roorkee, an MTech in Communication from IIT Delhi, and later earned an MA in Economics from the University of Rajasthan. His blend of engineering and economics has shaped a career spanning environmental governance, state administration and policy implementation.
Over nearly three decades in public service, Gangwar has held several key assignments in both the Rajasthan government and the Centre. He has served as Principal Secretary in the Rajasthan government and later as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, where he handled important subjects including pollution control, hazardous substances management and environmental regulation. More recently, he headed the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, overseeing policy relating to livestock, dairy development and animal health.
As the new Higher Education Secretary, Gangwar will now be responsible for steering policy on universities, higher educational institutions, technical education and flagship reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP), besides addressing the immediate challenge of restoring public confidence in India’s examination system.
Who Is Vineet Joshi?
The officer Gangwar replaces, Vineet Joshi, is a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre and one of the country’s most experienced education administrators.
An IIT Kanpur alumnus with an MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Joshi has spent much of his career in the education sector. Before becoming Higher Education Secretary, he served as Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and later as Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting major entrance examinations such as NEET and JEE. He also headed the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and held several senior positions in the Ministry of Education.
In the recent bureaucratic arrangement, Joshi had been entrusted with overseeing both the Higher Education Department and the School Education and Literacy Department. He has now been transferred to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as Secretary as part of a wider secretary-level reshuffle approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The leadership change comes against the backdrop of sustained protests over the alleged NEET paper leak, with students demanding greater transparency, accountability and structural reforms in India’s examination ecosystem. Although the government has not stated that Joshi’s transfer is connected to the controversy, Gangwar assumes office at a time when restoring credibility to the higher education system is among the ministry’s biggest priorities.
