From SEBI board to new Education Secretary: Who is Deepti Gaur Mukerjee?

Senior IAS officer Deepti Gaur Mukerjee has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education. The appointment was announced by the Centre late on Monday night as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle. She replaces Vineet Joshi, who shifted to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj last month. 

Born on February 3, 1969, in Uttar Pradesh, Mukerjee is a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Before her new appointment, she served as Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and earlier headed the National Health Authority as its CEO. She has also held several administrative positions in Madhya Pradesh, including in the state’s education department. Mukerjee also serves as a member of the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Chairperson of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority, as per reports. She has a master’s degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and MSc in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Mukerjee takes charge of the Department of Higher Education at a time when the Centre is dealing with several issues in the higher education and examination system. Her appointment also comes after an unusual change in the department. Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar had been named for the post about three weeks earlier, but his appointment was later put in abeyance as there were allegations against Gangwar regarding taking government subsidies, which led to his removal from the position. Mukerjee has now been entrusted with the responsibility.

Mukerjee will now head the department responsible for policy and administration in India’s higher education sector, including universities, technical education institutions and implementation of key education policies. Her new role will involve overseeing the implementation of several higher education policies and initiatives as the government continues its work under the National Education Policy 2020.