Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS: From IIT Roorkee to Rajasthan’s Biggest Bureaucrat

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS is a 1994-batch Rajasthan cadre officer with over 32 years of service — one of India’s most widely posted senior bureaucrats, currently serving as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Quick Facts: Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS

Field	Details
Full Name	Naresh Pal Gangwar
Service	Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Officer ID	01RJ029500
Batch	1994
Cadre	Rajasthan
Recruitment Type	Direct Recruit (DR) via UPSC CSE
Date of Birth	21 October 1970
Age (as of 2026)	56 years
Hometown / Domicile	Nainital, Uttarakhand
Pay Level	Level 17 in the IAS Pay Matrix
Total Years of Service	32 years
Total Postings	30 documented postings
Expected Retirement	31 October 2030
Current Posting (Nov 2026)	Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt. of India, New Delhi (since 21 October 2026)

Who Is Naresh Pal Gangwar?

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS is one of India’s most senior and widely experienced bureaucrats of the 1994 batch.
• He belongs to the Rajasthan cadre and entered the IAS through Direct Recruitment via the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1993, joining service in 1994.
• Over 32 years, he has held 30 documented postings in 10 different locations, covering sectors as varied as energy, tourism, school education, agriculture, environment, and animal husbandry.
• In July 2026, he became one of India’s most searched bureaucrats when the government appointed him as Higher Education Secretary — only to reverse the order 17 days later amid public controversy.
• As of November 2026, Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS current posting is Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, New Delhi — a role he has held since 21 October 2026.

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Education

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS education is one of the most impressive in the 1994 batch — and that’s saying something for a batch full of toppers.

Degree	Field	Institution
B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering)	Electronics & Communication	University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee)
M.Tech.	Communication (Communication & Radar)	IIT Delhi
M.A.	Economics	University of Rajasthan
Advanced Diploma	Finance	NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

• He studied Electronics and Communication as an undergraduate at the University of Roorkee — one of India’s most prestigious technical institutions.
• He then pursued an M.Tech in Communication from IIT Delhi, adding deep expertise in communication and radar technology.
• Not stopping there, he added an M.A. in Economics from the University of Rajasthan — bridging the gap between technology and policy.
• He also holds an Advanced Diploma in Finance from NALSAR University, Hyderabad — giving him a rounded understanding of public finance.
• He cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1993 (result year) and joined the IAS as a 1994-batch officer at the age of 24.

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Date of Birth, Age & Hometown

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS date of birth is 21 October 1970, as recorded in the DoPT Executive Record Sheet.
• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS age as of November 2026 is 56 years.
• He was born in Nainital, Uttarakhand — a hill town in the mountains of northern India, listed as his domicile state in government records.
• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS hometown is Nainital, Uttarakhand — though his entire career has been built in Rajasthan and at the Centre.
• He joined the IAS at age 24, which means he cleared one of India’s toughest exams early in his career.

Detail	Information
Date of Birth	21 October 1970
Age (2026)	56 years
Hometown	Nainital, Uttarakhand
Retirement Date	31 October 2030
Age When Joined IAS	24 years

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Batch and Cadre

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS batch is 1994 — the batch that entered service after clearing the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1993.
• He was allotted the Rajasthan cadre — one of India’s larger and politically active state cadres.
• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Rajasthan has been his home cadre for all 32 years of his career, though much of his recent service has been at the Central government level on deputation.
• His officer code is 01RJ029500 — the “RJ” standing for Rajasthan cadre, confirming his cadre allocation in DoPT records.

Field	Detail
UPSC CSE Year	1993 (joined 1994)
Batch	1994
Cadre	Rajasthan (RJ)
Officer Code	01RJ029500
Recruitment Type	Direct Recruit (DR)
Cadre Allocation	Rajasthan (state with ~10% central deputation norm)

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Career: 30 Postings in 32 Years

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS has held 30 distinct postings across 10 locations — a career that reads like a tour of India’s administrative machinery.
• He has served in Rajasthan districts including Jodhpur, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Udaipur, Ganganagar, and Bharatpur.
• At the state government level, he has led departments covering Energy, School Education, Agriculture, and Tourism.
• At the central government level, he has served in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and is currently in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Complete Career Timeline

#	Role	Department / Location	Period	Duration
1	Secretary (Current)	Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt. of India, New Delhi	Oct 2026 → Present	1 mo+
2	Secretary	Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt. of India, New Delhi (first stint)	Sep 2025 → Oct 2026	~1 yr 1 mo
3	Additional Secretary	Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India, New Delhi	Jan 2022 → Sep 2025	3 yrs 8 mo
4	Joint Secretary	Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India, New Delhi	Dec 2020 → Jan 2022	1 yr 1 mo
5	Principal Secretary	Agriculture & Horticulture Dept. & Commissioner Agri. Production, Rajasthan, Jaipur	Sep 2019 → Dec 2020	1 yr 3 mo
6	Principal Secretary	Energy Dept. & CMD, DISCOMS, Rajasthan	Dec 2018 → Sep 2019	9 mo
7	Principal Secretary	School Education, Language & Library Dept., Rajasthan, Jaipur	Apr 2018 → Dec 2018	8 mo
8	Secretary	School Education, Language & Library Dept., Rajasthan, Jaipur	Apr 2016 → Apr 2018	2 yrs
9	Secretary	Secondary Education, RMSA Commissioner, Rajasthan, Jaipur	Oct 2014 → Feb 2016	1 yr 4 mo
10	Secretary	School Education Dept., Rajasthan, Jaipur	Feb 2014 → Oct 2014	8 mo
11	Commissioner	Rajasthan Council of Primary Education, Jaipur	Dec 2013 → Feb 2014	2 mo
12	CMD	Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC), Jaipur	Apr 2013 → Dec 2013	8 mo
13	Secretary & CMD	Energy Dept. & Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL), Jaipur	Jan 2009 → Apr 2013	4 yrs 3 mo
14	Special Secretary & CMD	Energy Dept. & RRECL, Jaipur	Aug 2009 → Dec 2009	4 mo
15	MD	Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), Jaipur	Oct 2008 → Jan 2009	3 mo
16	Collector & DM	Jodhpur	May 2006 → Oct 2008	2 yrs 5 mo
17	Collector & DM	Jhalawar	Jun 2004 → May 2006	1 yr 11 mo
18	Collector & DM	Sawai Madhopur	Apr 2002 → Jan 2004	1 yr 9 mo
19	Collector & DM	Tonk	Jan 2001 → Apr 2002	1 yr 3 mo
20	Deputy Secretary	Dept. of Personnel (A-1), Rajasthan, Jaipur	Oct 1999 → Jan 2001	1 yr 3 mo
21	Deputy Secretary	Medical & Health Dept., Rajasthan, Jaipur	Mar 1999 → Oct 1999	7 mo
22	Addl. Collector (Dev.) & Project Director	DRDA, Udaipur	May 1998 → Mar 1999	10 mo
23	Sub-Divisional Officer	Ganganagar	Aug 1996 → May 1998	1 yr 9 mo

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Current Posting (2026)

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS current posting as of November 2026 is: Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, New Delhi.
• He has been in this role since 21 October 2026.
• This posting came after the controversial 17-day episode (see Controversy section) in which he was briefly appointed Higher Education Secretary in July 2026 but never took charge of that role.
• As Secretary of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, he is one of the most senior officers in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• He operates at Pay Level 17 — the apex scale for Secretary-level IAS officers in India.

Training & Professional Development

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS has completed mid-career and in-service training programmes as per the IAS training policy.

Year	Programme	Institute	Duration
2012	Mid-Career Training Programme (IAS) Phase IV	LBSNAA / Designated Institute	~7 weeks
2007–08	E-Governance: Opportunities and Challenges	IIM Bangalore	1 week
2013–14	Infrastructure Finance	Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad	1 week
2017–18	Developing Leadership Excellence	Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC), Pune	1 week

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Rajasthan: His Roots in the State

• Born in Nainital, he spent much of his administrative career serving Rajasthan.
• Served as District Collector in five districts: Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, and Bharatpur.
• Worked as Secretary & CMD, Energy Department and RRECL (2009–2013).
• Served as Managing Director of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC).
• Became Chairman & MD of Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) in 2013.
• Led Rajasthan’s School Education Department from 2014 to 2018.
• Served as Principal Secretary, Agriculture & Horticulture Department, Rajasthan, from 2019 to 2020.

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Subsidy: The Controversy That Changed Everything

• The most talked-about chapter in Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS’s career is the National Horticulture Board (NHB) subsidy row — a controversy that surfaced in June 2026 and followed him all the way to a Secretary-level appointment.

What Was the Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Subsidy Row?

• In June 2026, The Indian Express published an investigative report revealing that three family members of Naresh Pal Gangwar — his wife, mother, and son — collectively received over ₹1.16 crore in government subsidies under the National Horticulture Board (NHB) scheme.
• The subsidies were reportedly for cucumber cultivation under the Protected Cultivation Scheme.
• The controversy raised serious questions about conflict of interest, given that Gangwar was serving as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying — a senior Central government role — at the time these subsidies were processed.
• The report also alleged that subsidy approvals were made during a period linked to Gangwar’s administrative tenure.

Aspect	Details
Reported by	The Indian Express (June 2026)
Total Amount	Over ₹1.16 crore
Recipients	Wife, mother, and son of Naresh Pal Gangwar
Scheme	NHB Development of Commercial Horticulture Scheme (Protected Cultivation)
Crop	Cucumber cultivation
Period	Across 5 years (as reported)
Gangwar’s Role at the Time	Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying

Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS Controversy: The 17-Day Higher Education Appointment

• The Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS controversy reached national headlines in July 2026 — when a routine bureaucratic reshuffle turned into a political and public storm.

Timeline of the 17-Day Episode

Date	Event
23 July 2026	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appoints Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary, Department of Higher Education, replacing Vineet Joshi
24 July 2026	Congress leader Jairam Ramesh publicly questions the appointment, alleging subsidy-linked irregularities
24–25 July 2026	Social media outcry; CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) and activists flag the earlier Indian Express report on NHB subsidies
July–August 2026	Growing public pressure; Gangwar’s appointment is put “in abeyance” — he never actually takes charge as Higher Education Secretary
10–11 August 2026	Centre issues a revised order; Deepti Gaur Mukerjee (1993 batch, Madhya Pradesh cadre) is appointed as Higher Education Secretary
21 October 2026	Gangwar is confirmed as Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying — his current posting

• Gangwar’s appointment came amid nationwide protests over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
• Previous Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi reportedly did not vacate the post after Gangwar’s appointment.
• The Centre reversed Gangwar’s appointment within 17 days following controversy over the NHB subsidy report.
• Congress MP Jairam Ramesh linked the appointment to concerns over the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case.
• On August 21, 2026, NHB revised its guidelines, barring family members of serving government officials from receiving subsidies under its schemes.

Conclusion

• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS batch 1994 placed him among the seniors of the IAS today — with a Pay Level 17 posting and decades of experience.
• Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS education — from IIT Roorkee to IIT Delhi to University of Rajasthan to NALSAR — is one of the most academically diverse in his batch.
• His Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS current posting as Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying since October 2026 keeps him at the heart of India’s livestock and dairy policy.
• The Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS controversy of July–August 2026 was unusual — his appointment as Higher Education Secretary was reversed in just 17 days, driven by questions about the Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS subsidy row involving his family and NHB scheme benefits worth ₹1.16 crore.
• His hometown Nainital and his domicile in Uttarakhand make him one of the few senior IAS officers in the Rajasthan cadre with a northern hill-state background.

Read more:

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• Satyam Gandhi IAS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS current posting?

He is Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, since 21 October 2026.

2. What is Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS batch?

He belongs to the 1994-batch IAS, Rajasthan cadre.

3. What is Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS age?

He is 56 years old, born on 21 October 1970.

4. What is Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS education?

He holds a B.E., M.Tech, M.A. in Economics, and an Advanced Diploma in Finance.

5. What is the Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS subsidy controversy?

His wife, mother, and son reportedly received over ₹1.16 crore in NHB subsidies for cucumber cultivation.

6. Why was Naresh Pal Gangwar replaced as Higher Education Secretary?

His appointment was reversed within 17 days following criticism linked to the NHB subsidy controversy.

7. What is Naresh Pal Gangwar IAS hometown?

His hometown is Nainital, Uttarakhand.

8. When will Naresh Pal Gangwar retire?

He is expected to retire on 31 October 2030.

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