NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday appointed Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, as the new Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), marking a major leadership change at the country’s largest school examination board amid scrutiny over its On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.The appointment comes on the same day that the government ordered a formal inquiry into the procurement of services for the OSM platform and transferred two of CBSE’s top officials — Chairperson Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta. The developments follow growing concerns raised by students and parents regarding the implementation of the digital evaluation system introduced for Class 12 board examinations this year.Senior bureaucrat with extensive administrative experienceBorn on November 20, 1973, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram is a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre. Before his appointment to CBSE, he was serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, a position he assumed on April 1, 2026.Over the course of his administrative career, Sitaram has held a variety of positions, including Joint Secretary, Director, Deputy Secretary, Private Secretary, Counsellor, Deputy Commissioner and Secretary. He has also been honoured twice with the State Award (Gold) for Meritorious Service.According to the order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Sitaram has been appointed as Chairperson, CBSE, in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.Rahul Singh moved to Agriculture MinistrySitaram succeeds Rahul Singh, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, who has been appointed Additional Secretary in the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.Singh assumed charge as CBSE Chairperson in March 2024, succeeding Nidhi Chhibber. An engineer by training, he holds a BTech degree in Computer Science and a postgraduate qualification in Public Policy and Management. During his career, he has served in several key positions, including District Magistrate, Collector, Transport Commissioner, Managing Director and Joint Secretary. Prior to joining CBSE, he served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).Notably, the ACC had extended Singh’s tenure as CBSE Chairperson in August 2025 until November 11, 2027. His transfer comes more than a year before the scheduled completion of that tenure.Leadership overhaul amid OSM controversyThe Centre also transferred Himanshu Gupta, who had been serving as CBSE Secretary since November 2023 under a four-year tenure. A 2012-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre and an IIT Delhi graduate in Mechanical Engineering, Gupta previously served as Director of Education in the Government of NCT of Delhi and as Deputy Commissioner of Longding district in Arunachal Pradesh.He also held additional charge as Secretary of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) between September and October 2025, overseeing two major national education institutions simultaneously.The leadership changes come as CBSE faces scrutiny over its On-Screen Marking system, introduced this year for the evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets. Alongside the administrative reshuffle, the government has constituted a one-member committee headed by S. Radha Chauhan, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission, to examine matters relating to the procurement of services for the OSM platform.As the new CBSE chief, Sitaram takes charge at a critical juncture, with the board facing questions over evaluation practices, procurement processes and transparency. His tenure is expected to focus on restoring confidence in the examination system while steering the organisation through one of its most closely watched periods in recent years.