Who Is Naresh Pal Gangwar? Know the Educational Qualifications of India's New Higher Education Secretary Amid CJP Protest

New Delhi: The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, succeeding Vineet Joshi, who has been transferred to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as Secretary.

While Gangwar brings decades of administrative experience, his strong academic credentials have also drawn attention.

Naresh Pal Gangwar's educational qualifications

Naresh Pal Gangwar has pursued higher education across engineering and economics disciplines:

Bachelor of Technology (BTech) in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the IIT Roorkee.

Master of Technology (MTech) in Communication from IIT Delhi.

Master of Arts (MA) in Economics from the University of Rajasthan.

Experience in education administration

According to various media reports, long before his appointment as higher education secretary, Naresh Pal Gangwar had built extensive experience in the education sector. Between 2014 and 2018, he held multiple key positions in Rajasthan's school education department, serving as secretary and later principal secretary. During this period, he also served as Commissioner of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and earlier as Commissioner of the Rajasthan Council of Primary Education (2013–2014).

In these roles, he reportedly oversaw several key departments and institutions, including:

Secondary Education

Elementary Education

School Education Department

Language and Library Department (Bhasha Vibhag)

Rajasthan Council of Primary Education

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

With this extensive experience in school education administration, Gangwar is expected to bring significant governance expertise to his new role as Higher Education Secretary in the Union Ministry of Education.

Career highlights

A 1994-batch IAS officer, Gangwar has held several important positions in both the Rajasthan government and the central government.

Before his latest appointment, he served as secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Earlier, he worked as joint secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, where he handled issues related to pollution control, hazardous substances management and environmental regulation. He has also served as principal secretary in the Rajasthan government.

New role in higher education
As the new higher education secretary, Gangwar will oversee policies related to universities, higher educational institutions, technical education, and the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP). He takes charge at a time when the higher education sector is under scrutiny following concerns over examination reforms and governance.

Gangwar succeeds Vineet Joshi, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre, who has been appointed Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Joshi previously served as CBSE Chairperson and Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA).