NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday appointed 2001-batch IAS officer Mandeep K Bhandari as the new Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), temporarily upgrading the post to the rank and pay of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India. The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
Bhandari’s appointment comes amid continuing scrutiny of CBSE’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system introduced for the digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets. The system faced complaints relating to scanned answer books, verification and re-evaluation processes, while the Centre also ordered an inquiry into the procurement of OSM-related services earlier this year.
The appointment follows a series of leadership changes at the board. In June, Rahul Singh was transferred from the CBSE chairperson’s post and Prashant Lokhande was subsequently given charge of the position, while the government also appointed a new secretary.
The OSM system, introduced as part of CBSE’s move towards digital evaluation, involved scanning physical answer sheets and making them available to evaluators for assessment. Following the declaration of results, students reported issues involving scanned copies of answer books, including alleged missing or unclear pages, prompting CBSE to open a process for verification and re-evaluation. The board also reported attempts to disrupt its post-result portal through cyberattacks.
Questions were also raised publicly over the security of the digital evaluation infrastructure. CBSE, however, said in May that a platform cited in social-media allegations was a testing site containing sample data and that the operational OSM evaluation system had not been compromised.
Bhandari’s Administrative Experience
Bhandari is a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre and has held several administrative positions in Jammu and Kashmir as well as at the Centre. According to reports, he has served as Deputy Commissioner of Leh and Jammu and as Divisional Commissioner, Jammu. He has also held responsibilities in the health and medical education sectors.
At the Centre, Bhandari served as Private Secretary to the Union Human Resource Development Minister and later as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
He now takes charge of CBSE as the board prepares for the 2026-27 academic and examination cycle, with digital evaluation, examination security, access to answer sheets and post-result services remaining key areas of focus for its administration.
