Senior IAS officer Mandeep K. Bhandari has been appointed Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), becoming the third officer to lead the national education board in less than four months.
The Centre has appointed Mandeep K. Bhandari, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, as the new Chairperson of CBSE, replacing Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, who had been holding additional charge of the position.
The appointment comes amid a period of rapid leadership changes at the Board following the controversy surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for the 2026 board examinations.
According to an order issued on September 25, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Bhandari’s appointment as CBSE Chairperson in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. The post has been temporarily upgraded for the appointment.
Who is Mandeep K. Bhandari?
Mandeep K. Bhandari is a 2001-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre and an MBBS graduate.
Before his appointment as CBSE Chairperson, Bhandari was serving as Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He was also holding additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.
Official records of the Jammu and Kashmir administration show that Bhandari was appointed Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor on March 6, 2023.
His administrative career also includes a long association with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, where he served as Additional Chief Executive Officer for nearly a decade between 2009 and 2018.
In January 2018, Bhandari moved to the Union government as Private Secretary to the Union Minister handling higher education in the then Ministry of Human Resource Development.
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Later that year, he was appointed Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, where he served from September 2018 until January 2023 and handled major administrative and policy responsibilities.
Bhandari Replaces Lokhande Prashant Sitaram
Bhandari’s appointment brings to an end the interim arrangement under which Lokhande Prashant Sitaram was holding additional charge as CBSE Chairperson.
On July 2, the ACC had assigned Lokhande additional charge of the Board while he continued serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Home under the Union Home Ministry.
The order had specified that he would continue in the role until the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders.
Bhandari’s appointment comes 85 days after that July 2 order.
Interestingly, Lokhande had himself been appointed as CBSE Chairperson only a month earlier. A June 2 ACC notification had approved his appointment as the Board’s Chairperson in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
The subsequent July 2 order, however, designated his responsibility as an additional charge.
CBSE Sees Three Chairpersons Since June
The latest appointment marks the third change at the top of CBSE since June 2, 2026.
The leadership reshuffle began when then CBSE Chairperson Rahul Singh was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.
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At the same time, CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta was prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre in the Ministry of Home Affairs, while Lokhande was brought in to head the Board and Varun Bhardwaj was appointed Secretary.
The developments came against the backdrop of concerns surrounding CBSE’s On-Screen Marking system.
On-Screen Marking Controversy in the Background
The OSM system became the subject of scrutiny following complaints related to the digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets during the 2026 CBSE board examinations.
Concerns reportedly included poor scanning of answer sheets, technical glitches and alleged unexplained changes in marks during the digital evaluation process. Questions were also raised over the procurement of services associated with the system.
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Following the controversy, the government constituted a one-member inquiry headed by former Union Secretary S. Radha Chauhan to examine issues connected with the procurement of services for the On-Screen Marking system.
With Mandeep K. Bhandari now taking charge as the regular CBSE Chairperson, the appointment brings another leadership transition at the Board at a time when its examination and evaluation processes remain under close attention.
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