Senior bureaucrat Deepti Gaur Mukerjee has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle by the Centre. Mukerjee, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, succeeds Vineet Joshi, who was moved to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj last month. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Mukerjee's appointment along with several other senior-level changes. The appointments were made in partial modification of an earlier order dated July 23.
Mukerjee, 57, had been serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs since August 16, 2024, overseeing policy and regulatory matters concerning corporate governance and company law. During her tenure, she was associated with policy initiatives including reforms linked to the Competition Act and the proposed digital competition framework. Pallavi Jain Govil has been appointed to take charge of the Corporate Affairs Ministry following Mukerjee's move to the Department of Higher Education. Mukerjee also serves as a member of the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and as chairperson of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
Born on February 3, 1969, in Uttar Pradesh, Mukerjee has an academic background in economics, public policy and governance. She holds a Master's degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and an MSc in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics (LSE). During her administrative career, Mukerjee has held a range of positions in both the Madhya Pradesh government and the Centre. In Madhya Pradesh, she served as Principal Secretary in departments including Personnel, General Administration, and Sports and Youth Welfare, handling responsibilities related to governance and administrative reforms.
Mukerjee has also held significant responsibilities in the country's health administration. She served as Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority, where she oversaw the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the Centre's flagship public health insurance programme.
She has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Her administrative career has included assignments as Additional Secretary, Principal Secretary, Commissioner and Director, Joint Secretary, District Collector and Deputy Secretary.
Mukerjee takes charge of the Higher Education Department at a significant time for the sector, with the government dealing with issues surrounding examinations, institutional governance and education reforms. Her appointment comes amid wider changes in the education administration and follows the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG examination and allegations of paper leaks. The government had earlier named Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar for the Higher Education Secretary's post, but that decision was subsequently put in abeyance. Mukerjee has now been selected for the position.