Deepti Gaur Mukerjee appointed additional UGC chairperson

Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, secretary of the department of higher education, ministry of education, has been assigned the additional charge of University Grants Commission (UGC) chairperson. The appointment has taken effect from August 12, 2026, following an order issued by the ministry. 

The government’s decision came just days after Mukerjee took charge as higher education secretary. The additional charge places Mukerjee at the helm of the UGC while the government works towards appointing a regular chairperson. 

Deepti’s tenure in the role will be linked to her membership of the commission and will end if she ceases to be a UGC member, the notice read. Her additional responsibility was announced while the higher education regulator awaits the appointment of a regular chairperson.

Mukerjee takes interim charge of UGC

The UGC plays a key role in India's higher education system, including maintaining standards in universities and colleges, coordinating higher education development and advising the government on matters related to higher education.

Mukerjee's appointment places the secretary of higher education in charge of the commission at a time when several areas of higher education policy and regulation continue to be implemented. Her existing role in the ministry of education is expected to provide continuity between the department and the higher education regulator.

From protests to Mukerjee’s appointment

Vineet Joshi was shifted from the post of higher education secretary, labelled as a bureaucratic reshuffle amid intense nationwide protests over National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) irregularities led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Naresh Pal Gangwar was subsequently named as his replacement. However, he did not take charge of the department after allegations of corruption involving his family and government horticulture subsidies came to light.

Following the decision to put Gangwar’s appointment in abeyance, the government appointed Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, as the new higher education secretary on August 11, 2026. She was earlier serving as secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs before moving to the ministry of education. Mukerjee was later given the additional charge of UGC chairperson.