New Delhi, July 24 -- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday approved a major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats, moving education secretary Vineet Joshi to the ministry of panchayati raj and appointing Naresh Pal Gangwar, currently secretary in the department of animal husbandry and dairying, as the new secretary of the department of higher education.

The changes come at a sensitive time for the Union ministry of education, which has been facing intense public and political scrutiny over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The matter has triggered protests by students and opposition parties, while the issue has repeatedly disrupted proceedings in Parliament during the ongoing monsoon session.

Joshi, a 1992 batch IAS officer ...