♦ The Central government on 2 June 2026 appointed senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as the new Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) Chairperson and named Varun Bhardwaj as the board’s new Secretary. The appointments came just hours after the Centre ordered a high-level inquiry into the procurement and implementation of the digital evaluation system.

♦ According to an order approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, a 2001-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, will take charge as CBSE Chairperson in the rank of Additional Secretary. He replaces Rahul Singh, a 1996-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, who has been transferred as Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

♦ The government has also appointed Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008-batch Indian Information Service officer and Director in the Department of Higher Education, as the new Secretary of CBSE. Bhardwaj succeeds Himanshu Gupta, an AGMUT cadre IAS officer of the 2012 batch. He will serve in the position until September 19, 2027, under the Central Staffing Scheme.