Guwahati, July 24 -- The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary of the Department of Higher Education amid pressure on the Education Ministry over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

The appointment comes amid protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, with groups including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

A Rajasthan cadre officer from the 1994 IAS batch, Gangwar will take charge after Vineet Joshi, a 1992-batch officer, was moved to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as Secretary. Joshi will assume the new role after Vivek Bhardwaj retires on July 31.

Gangwar joined the IAS in 1994 after qualifying for the civil services examin...