Lokhande Prashant Sitaram Appointed as New CBSE Chairperson

Lokhande Prashant Sitaram Appointed as New CBSE Chairperson

Why in News?

Recently, senior IAS officer Lokhande Prashant Sitaram was appointed as new CBSE Chairperson amid On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy. He succeeded Rahul Singh following a major administrative reshuffle.

Who is Lokhande Prashant Sitaram?

• • Intro: Lokhande Prashant Sitaram is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 2001 AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre. He was born on November 20, 1973 in Maharashtra.
  • Education: Lokhande possesses a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Mechanical Engineering from Pune University. 
    • He further strengthened his managerial and industrial expertise through a Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering from NITIE Mumbai (now IIM Mumbai).
  • Civil Service: After completing his technical education, he qualified the prestigious Civil Services Examination and joined the IAS in 2001 under the AGMUT cadre. 
    • AGMUT is the acronym for Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. 
    • This cadre administers several Union Territories and northeastern regions, providing officers diverse governance exposure. 
  • Career: He served in various AGMUT cadre assignments involving district administration, land revenue, planning and programme implementation, finance, and governance functions across cadre territories. 
    • Held the position of Private Secretary in the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Government of India, lasting approximately 3 years and 8 months.
    • He has held the positions of Deputy Commissioner in Arunachal Pradesh, Director in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Counsellor (Economics) at the Embassy of India, Beijing. 
    • He was also the Private Secretary to the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries.
    • Over the next decade, he accumulated experience in Planning, Revenue Administration, Finance and Staff Officer roles, building a diversified administrative profile.
    • He served as Joint Secretary, Department of Home, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), handling important governance and internal administration responsibilities at the Union level.
    • In March 2026, the Government of India granted him in-situ promotion as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, reflecting seniority and administrative credibility.
    • On 2 June 2026, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his appointment as CBSE Chairperson in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.

• Award: Lokhande Prashant Sitaram is a recipient of State Award (Gold) two times for Meritorious Service. 

Role of CBSE Chairperson

• Status: The CBSE Chairperson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the highest-ranking executive authority within the Board. 
  • The Chairperson leads India’s largest school examination body, which oversees more than 30,000 affiliated schools in India and abroad.
• Organisational Structure: As Chief Executive, the Chairperson is assisted by senior officers including the Secretary, Controller of Examinations, Director (Academics), Director (Training), Director (IT), Director (Skill Education), Regional Directors and other departmental heads. The Chairperson ensures coordination among these divisions. 
• Administrative Leadership: The Chairperson provides overall direction, supervision and policy leadership for CBSE’s functioning. 
  • All major administrative, academic, examination and regulatory activities are coordinated under the Chairperson’s authority through departmental heads and regional offices. 
• Examination Governance: One of the most important responsibilities is overseeing Class X and Class XII Board Examinations, supplementary examinations, re-evaluation systems, result processing and examination reforms. 
  • The Chairperson is ultimately accountable for maintaining examination credibility and fairness.
• Curriculum Leadership: The Chairperson plays a central role in curriculum reforms through the Curriculum Committee, which recommends syllabi, subjects, assessment frameworks and educational innovations. 
• Affiliation Regulation: CBSE affiliation policies operate under committees chaired by the Chairperson. 
  • Responsibilities include scrutiny of affiliation proposals, enforcement of standards, teacher qualification norms and institutional compliance mechanisms.
• Financial Authority: The Chairperson possesses significant financial powers and participates in the Finance Committee, which examines budgets, expenditure proposals and financial management of the Board before approval. 
• Digital Reforms: The Chairperson heads the IT Advisory Committee, guiding digital initiatives such as online examinations, result systems, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence applications and evaluation technologies like OSM. 
• Skill Education: As Chairperson of the Skill Education Committee, the office oversees vocational education policies, industry partnerships, certification standards, teacher training and introduction of new skill-based subjects. 
• Policy Implementation: The Chairperson ensures implementation of reforms arising from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, competency-based assessments, experiential learning and examination modernization initiatives.

What Is the OSM Controversy?

• About: On-Screen Marking (OSM) is a digital evaluation system introduced by CBSE for Class 12 Board Examinations in 2026. 
  • Instead of checking physical answer sheets, evaluators assess scanned copies on a digital platform. 
  • The objective was to improve transparency, speed, standardization and error reduction in evaluation. 
  • The system aimed to eliminate totalling mistakes, improve examiner monitoring, enable step-marking, and create a digital record of evaluation. 
  • It was one of the largest education-technology reforms undertaken by the Board.
• Controversy: The controversy emerged after the declaration of Class 12 Results 2026. Thousands of students reported unexpectedly low marks and raised concerns regarding the accuracy of digital evaluation. Complaints rapidly spread through social media and student forums.
  • Students accessing scanned copies alleged that answer sheets contained blurred images, missing pages, unreadable sections and incomplete scans. Such complaints directly questioned the reliability of the digital evaluation process.
  • Several students claimed they received another candidate’s answer sheet while requesting photocopies. These incidents intensified concerns about data handling, identity matching and examination integrity. 
  • The issue grew nationwide, with reports indicating over 4 lakh students raising concerns and more than 11 lakh answer-sheet copy requests being filed for verification and review. 
  • The controversy expanded beyond evaluation errors to include allegations regarding the procurement process for OSM services. Questions were raised about tender conditions, vendor selection and technical evaluation criteria. 
  • Students alleged that answer sheets were scanned using mobile phones after changes in tender specifications. Critics argued that such practices could contribute to image-quality problems. 
  • Students also reported payment gateway failures, portal crashes, duplicate deductions and access problems while applying for answer-sheet verification and re-evaluation.
  • The OSM portal faced scrutiny over alleged security vulnerabilities and unauthorized access concerns, prompting CBSE to review the platform’s cybersecurity framework.
• Government Response: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan acknowledged discrepancies and assured corrective action. The Centre initiated formal inquiries, while a parliamentary committee also reviewed concerns surrounding OSM implementation. 
  • The Centre transferred the then CBSE Chairman and Secretary, ordered investigations, and subsequently appointed Lokhande Prashant Sitaram to restore confidence in the Board’s evaluation system.