IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar appointed Higher Education Secretary amid exam reform challenges

Senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Higher Education as part of the Centre's latest bureaucratic reshuffle, taking charge at a time when the Ministry of Education is under scrutiny over examination reforms and the alleged NEET UG 2026 paper leak.

Gangwar succeeds 1992 batch IAS officer Vineet Joshi, who has been appointed Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Joshi will assume his new role after the retirement of incumbent secretary Vivek Bhardwaj on July 31.

The leadership change comes amid continuing demands from protesters, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and reports of student suicides linked to the issue.

A 1994 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, Gangwar cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1993 and has served in several key administrative positions in both the Rajasthan government and the Union government.

Born on October 21, 1970, in Nainital, he holds a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, an M.Tech in Communication and Radar, and a Master's degree in Economics.

During his career in Rajasthan, Gangwar served as district collector in multiple districts. He was appointed Collector of Tonk in 2001 and later held the same position in Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar in 2004, Jodhpur in 2006, Bharatpur in 2008, and was subsequently appointed again as Collector of Jodhpur later that year.

His tenure across several districts established him as one of the senior administrative officers in the Rajasthan cadre.

Gangwar also has significant experience in education administration. In 2014, he was appointed Secretary of Rajasthan's School Education Department, where he oversaw education policy and administrative matters for several years.

After serving in the Rajasthan government for nearly two and a half decades, he moved to the Central government in 2020.

In December 2020, he was appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He was promoted to Additional Secretary in the same ministry in January 2022.

In August 2025, Gangwar was appointed Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

As Higher Education Secretary, Gangwar takes charge at a crucial time when the Ministry of Education is overseeing reforms in the higher education sector while also working to strengthen the integrity and transparency of India's examination system.