The Centre has appointed Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, replacing Vineet Joshi in a bureaucratic reshuffle that comes amid ongoing protests over alleged NEET examination irregularities.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday appointed 1994-batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary of the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education. He succeeds Vineet Joshi, who has been transferred to Secretary in the Department of Panchayati Raj as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Gangwar was serving as Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying before his latest appointment. Earlier, he served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, where he handled issues related to pollution control and hazardous substances management.
An engineer by training, Gangwar holds a BTech in Electronics and Communication from the University of Roorkee, an MTech in Communication and Radar Engineering from IIT Delhi, and an MA in Economics from the University of Rajasthan.
During his career, he has held several key positions in the Rajasthan government, including Principal Secretary of the School Education, Energy, Agriculture, Industries and Information Technology departments. He also served as Chairman of Jaipur DISCOM and Chairman and Managing Director of the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation. Gangwar played a key role in framing Rajasthan’s early solar energy policies during the initial phase of the National Solar Mission between 2010 and 2014.
GOVT DID NOT SPECIFY RESHUFFLE REASON
The government order did not specify any reason for the reshuffle, which comes amid continuing protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. The government is under continuous pressure as the New Delhi sees young individuals flocking in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to show their dissent over NEET irregularities.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Dr Nishikant Dubey welcomed the change, calling the action a ‘Modi Guarantee.’
“Prime Minister Modi Ji has replaced the Education Secretary who showed negligence in the paper leak case. Strict action will be taken against those guilty of paper leaks, including anyone who showed laxity or negligence. Modi Guarantee,” tweeted Dubey.
