Deepti Gaur Mukerjee appointed Higher Education Secretary, succeeds Vineet Joshi

Senior bureaucrat Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, IAS, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. It was announced after a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle approved by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) on August 10.

On July 24, the Centre appointed Naresh Pal Gangwar as Higher Education Secretary, replacing Vineet Joshi. Gangwar’s appointment sparked controversy after reports that his mother, wife and son had received over Rs 1.16 crore in government horticulture subsidies. However, Gangwar never joined the department, and Joshi continued as Higher Education Secretary. Now, in the latest reshuffle announced on August 10, the government has appointed Deepti Gaur Mukerjee.

Mukerjee, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is currently serving as Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. She will succeed Vineet Joshi, IAS, who has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

As per the latest order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, the ACC approved appointment in partial modification of its earlier order dated July 23.

The reshuffle also includes changes in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Pallavi Jain Govil, IAS, currently Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, has been appointed Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, succeeding Mukerjee.

Sunil Paliwal, IAS, Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, succeeding Govil.

The appointment of Mukerjee comes amid heightened scrutiny of the higher education and examination system following the NEET paper leak controversy. Although the ACC order itself does not state this as the reason for her appointment.