The Union government carried out a significant bureaucratic reshuffle on Thursday by announcing 13 secretary-level appointments across various ministries and departments.

Among the most closely watched changes were those in the Ministry of Education, where Naresh Pal Gangwar was appointed Secretary of the Department of Higher Education and T.K.Anil Kumar was named Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy.Gangwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, replaces Vineet Joshi, who has been moved to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as Secretary.

Gangwar previously served as Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and has an academic background in engineering and economics, along with extensive administrative experience in both the Rajasthan government and the Centre.

Anil Kumar, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, was serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development before his new appointment.The government did not provide any official reason for these transfers.

The reshuffle comes at a time when protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination continue, although the official order does not link the appointments to those developments.

Beyond the education sector, the Centre also reassigned several senior officials across ministries, including Development of North Eastern Region, Mines, Housing and Urban Affairs, Labour and Employment, and the National Commission for Minorities.

In addition, four senior officers received in-situ upgradation to the rank of Special Secretary with Secretary-level pay while continuing in their existing assignments.Overall, the exercise reflects a broad administrative reorganisation affecting multiple key departments of the Union government.