Mandeep K Bhandari Appointed New CBSE Chairperson

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Mandeep K Bhandari, IAS (AGMUT:2001), as Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) order issued on September 25, 2026, Bhandari will serve as CBSE Chairperson in the rank and pay of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India. The post has been temporarily upgraded to accommodate the appointment.

Bhandari, a 2001-batch AGMUT-cadre officer, was serving as Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, with additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. His official service profile lists an MBBS degree as his educational qualification. He has previously held several senior administrative positions, including Deputy Commissioner of Leh and Jammu and Divisional Commissioner of Jammu.

The appointment comes after several changes in CBSE's leadership this year. In June, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram was appointed Chairperson, replacing Rahul Singh. In July, Sitaram was given additional charge of the CBSE post while continuing as Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, pending appointment of a regular incumbent.

Bhandari takes charge at a time when CBSE is dealing with scrutiny over its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system introduced for Class 12 evaluation. Students had raised concerns about technical problems and discrepancies in scanned answer books. The Delhi High Court recently declined to entertain a PIL on the issue, while noting that affected students could pursue individual remedies.

CBSE currently has 33,157 affiliated schools, according to its SARAS 7.0 directory, making the chairperson's role significant for examinations, affiliation and academic administration nationwide.

The ACC also approved appointments involving Vipin Kumar, Srikant Nagulapalli, Sarita Chauhan, Anand Singh, P Hemalatha, V Ponnuraj, Piyush Singh and Ankita Mishra Bundela to senior positions across various ministries.