Education Ministry reshuffle: Naresh Pal Gangwar named Higher Education Secretary, Vineet Joshi moved

In a major reshuffle in the education ministry, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved moving Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and appointing Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary Naresh Pal Gangwar as the new Higher Education Secretary.

According to the order issued on July 23, Vineet Joshi, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj after the superannuation of Vivek Bhardwaj on July 31.

Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, replacing Vineet Joshi.

Gangwar is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Lohani to succeed Gangwar in Animal Husbandry Department

Following his transfer, Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been named Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and will assume charge as Secretary after Gangwar moves to the Higher Education Department.

Gangwar was serving as the Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Gangwar’s academic background and administrative experience

A trained engineer, he holds a BTech in Electronics and Communication from the University of Roorkee, an MTech in Communication from IIT Delhi, and an MA in Economics from the University of Rajasthan. Over the course of his career, he has held several senior positions in both the Rajasthan government and the Centre, including as Principal Secretary in the Rajasthan government and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

T K Anil Kumar appointed School Education Secretary

As part of the reshuffle, the ACC appointed T K Anil Kumar, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, as Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy.

Published on July 24, 2026