Senior IAS officer Mandeep K Bhandari has been appointed chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) following a bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre on September 25.

Bhandari, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, is currently serving as Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment, according to an order issued by the personnel ministry.

IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram had been holding additional charge of the CBSE chairperson’s post. Sitaram was appointed Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry on July 2 while continuing as CBSE chairperson. He had assumed charge of the board on June 2 after his predecessor was transferred amid the On-Screen Marking system row.

The reshuffle also includes appointments across several ministries. Vipin Kumar, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, has been appointed Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development, while Srikant Nagulapalli, Director General of Hydrocarbons, will become Additional Secretary, Department of Expenditure.

V Ponnuraj, a 2000-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, has been appointed Director General of Hydrocarbons.

Sarita Chauhan Chand has been appointed Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Steel. Anand Singh will be Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs; P Hemalatha, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training; and Piyush Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power.

Ankita Mishra Bundela has been appointed Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, while Manisha Sensarma will be Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Inputs from PTI

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