Mandeep K Bhandari Named New Chairperson of CBSE

Shantanu Thakur

29 Sep 2026

2 Min

The central government has appointed Mandeep K Bhandari, an IAS officer of the 2001 batch from the AGMUT cadre, as the new chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) issued the order on September 25, 2026. He will hold the post in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the Union Government, with the post temporarily upgraded for the appointment.

Key Points

Officer: Mandeep K Bhandari
Service: Indian Administrative Service, 2001 batch
Cadre: Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT)
Post: Chairperson, CBSE
Appointed by: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

Background of Changes at CBSE

The appointment follows several administrative changes at CBSE in 2026. The government reportedly transferred the then chairman Rahul Singh and began an inquiry into procurement linked to the board’s OSM system. In June 2026, it appointed Lokhande Prashant Sitaram as chairman.

OSM refers to the digital evaluation of candidates’ answer papers. The government reportedly set up a one-man committee headed by S. Radha Chauhan, the Chairman of the Capacity Building Commission.

About CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education is a national-level body that conducts school examinations and affiliates schools in India and abroad. Its roots go back to a joint board formed in 1929 for Rajputana, Central India and Gwalior. The Government of India gave it its present name in 1952. The board was reconstituted on July 1, 1962, when the Delhi Board of Higher Secondary Education merged into it and its office moved to New Delhi.

Functions of CBSE

Conducting secondary and senior secondary examinations
Affiliating eligible schools
Developing and revising curricular content
Adopting policies on examination procedures
Promoting academic and teacher training programmes
Adopting educational reforms in line with national education policy

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