Prashant Sitaram has been assigned the additional charge of CBSE Chairperson. He is also the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment. This order was issued on July 2, 2026 .
Sitaram Takes CBSE Leadership
Lokhande Prashant Sitaram assumed the role last month. This followed the transfer of the previous Chairperson, Rahul Singh. Singh moved to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The change occurred amid the On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy.
Sitaram will hold this dual responsibility. He will serve as CBSE Chairperson until a permanent replacement is found. This is according to the official order. The arrangement continues until further notice.
Prashant Sitaram's Background
Sitaram is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He belongs to the 2001 batch . His cadre is Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories (AGMUT). He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. This degree is from Pune University.
He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering. This is from NITIE Mumbai. Sitaram has held various positions. These include Joint Secretary and Deputy Commissioner. He received the State Award (Gold) for Meritorious Service twice.
CBSE Leadership Changes
The government appointed Varun Bhardwaj as Secretary in CBSE. This appointment came after the OSM row. Bhardwaj previously served as Director in the Department of Higher Education. He replaced Himanshu Gupta.
OSM Controversy Background
The Class 12 On-Screen Marking controversy began recently. Students reported lower marks. They attributed this to the new digital evaluation system. An ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, highlighted system vulnerabilities. He demonstrated a plain text password in the website's source code.
