Amid the OSM (On-Screen Marking) controversy, the central government has appointed 2001-batch IAS officer Prashant Sitaram Lokhande as the new chairman of the CBSE. Former chairman Rahul Singh has been transferred. An investigation has been ordered into alleged irregularities in answer sheets and questions raised about the tender process.
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The central government on Tuesday appointed Prashant Sitaram Lokhande as the new chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). He will replace Rahul Singh, who was removed from the post by the government the same day.
Lokhande’s appointment comes at a time when the government has transferred CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta, and also formed a one-member inquiry committee to investigate the procurement process of services related to the board’s on-screen marking (OSM) system.
The move follows a controversy in which some Class 12 students alleged that the scanned copies of their answer sheets uploaded by the board did not match their handwriting, raising questions about the reliability of the digital evaluation system.
Who is Prashant Sitaram Lokhande?
Prashant Lokhande is a 2001 batch IAS officer. He belongs to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre. He previously served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs. In March 2026, the Government of India promoted him to the rank of Additional Secretary in the same department. According to available information:
He was born in November 1973.
He holds a BE degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pune.
He has done Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering from NITIE Mumbai.
He has previously held various important positions like Joint Secretary, Director, Deputy Secretary, Private Secretary, Counsellor, Deputy Commissioner and Secretary.
He has been awarded the State Award (Gold) twice for outstanding service.
He is proficient in English, Hindi and Marathi languages.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved his appointment.
What happened to Rahul Singh and Himanshu Gupta?
Former CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh has now been appointed Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Meanwhile, CBSE Secretary Himanshu Gupta (2012 batch IAS officer) has been sent back to his parent cadre i.e. Home Ministry due to administrative reasons.
The government has appointed Varun Bhardwaj, a 2008 batch Indian Information Service (IIS) officer and currently a director in the Ministry of Education, as the new CBSE secretary.
What is the OSM controversy of CBSE?
The controversy erupted when some 12th-grade students alleged that their answer sheets displayed on the CBSE portal did not appear to be their original copies. The board also faced criticism for the following issues:
Technical glitches
Payment issues
Delay in verification and re-evaluation
lack of transparency
Following these incidents, demands for accountability and investigation intensified.
What allegations did student Sarthak Siddhant make?
12th-grade student Sarthak Siddhanta presented a presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, raising the issue of alleged irregularities in the tender process related to the OSM system. He claimed that:
Some important conditions of the tender were changed.
Some rules related to the performance were removed.
The condition “previously blacklisted” was changed to “currently blacklisted”.
Some eligibility rules were amended.
Sarthak alleges that these changes benefited a particular service provider. He also suggested that the OSM system should be tested on a large scale before implementing it nationwide.
What are the allegations against COEMPT company?
Sarthak Siddhanta said that the company COEMPT, which won the contract for the OSM system, was previously known as Globarena and has a controversial past. He alleged that:
CBSE issued the same tender thrice.
Several important changes were made to the old and new tender documents.
Three conditions associated with poor performance were removed.
The time limit for corrupt practices was reduced.
Changes were also made in the project eligibility criteria.
Sarthak claimed that these changes indicated that COEMPT was given priority over larger companies. However, an official investigation into these allegations is currently underway, and the government has formed a committee to investigate the matter.
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