CBSE: The Central Board of Secondary Education

India’s largest school board started out with a much smaller job: coordinating exams for just a handful of northern regions. This article covers the CBSE, its history, its structure, and its present-day scale.

From Regional Board to National Institution

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1929

A Joint Regional Board Begins

Coordinates exams for Ajmer, Merwara, Central India and Gwalior

1952

Renamed the Central Board

Takes its present name, jurisdiction widens

1 JULY 1962

Reconstituted Nationwide

The Delhi Board of Secondary Education merges in

TODAY

India’s Largest School Board

Over 28,000 schools in India, plus 240+ abroad

The long arc: The CBSE grew by absorbing other boards into itself, not by starting large. Its national reach today rests on a series of mergers, not one single founding moment.

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Timeline

• 1929: A joint board, the “Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Rajputana,” is set up for Ajmer, Merwara, Central India, and Gwalior.
• 1952: The Board’s constitution is amended. It takes its present name, Central Board of Secondary Education, and its jurisdiction widens.
• 1 July 1962: The Board is reconstituted to serve students nationwide. The Delhi Board of Secondary Education merges into it.
• Today: CBSE is India’s largest school examination board, with over 28,000 affiliated schools in India and more than 240 abroad.

Must Know

• CBSE, the Central Board of Secondary Education, is India’s largest school examination board.
• It was reconstituted on 1 July 1962 to serve students and institutions nationwide, absorbing the earlier Delhi Board of Secondary Education.
• CBSE is an autonomous body, though its overall control rests with the Government of India, through the Ministry of Education.
• Its core function is conducting the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations nationwide, each year.
• CBSE also affiliates schools, and follows the NCERT curriculum, especially from Classes 9 to 12.

Good to Know

• The Chairperson is CBSE’s Chief Executive. The Secretary serves as its Chief Administrative Officer.
• CBSE’s Controlling Authority is the Secretary (School Education and Literacy) in the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
• More than 28,000 schools within India are affiliated to CBSE. Over 240 more schools, across 28 foreign countries, are also affiliated.
• Before becoming “CBSE” in 1952, the Board was originally set up in 1929 to serve just a handful of northern and central Indian regions.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. What does the CBSE stand for?

Central Bureau of School Examinations

Central Board of Secondary Education

Council of Boards for School Education

Central Board of School Evaluation

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Great to Know

• CBSE’s growth by merger, not by simple expansion, matters. Absorbing the Delhi Board in 1962 shows national institutions often form by combining existing regional ones, rather than replacing them outright.
• Calling CBSE “autonomous” while its ultimate control sits with the Government of India is not a contradiction. Many Indian statutory bodies combine day-to-day independence with final government oversight.
• Having over 240 affiliated schools abroad shows CBSE’s reach goes beyond India’s own borders. Indian curriculum and exams now serve diaspora communities directly, not just domestic students.
• A board that began by serving a handful of regions now runs the country’s largest examination system. This shows how much institutional scale can grow, well past its original founding mandate.

Current Affairs

Full coverage: CA0004 — Lokhande Prashant Sitaram Appointed New CBSE Chairperson.

• As of August 2026, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram is CBSE Chairperson, appointed on 2 June 2026. (Source: All India Radio / newsonair.gov.in)
• He succeeded Rahul Singh, who was transferred to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, as Additional Secretary. (Source: All India Radio / newsonair.gov.in)
• Lokhande is a 2001-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram-Union Territories). Before this appointment, he served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. (Source: Republic World)
• Varun Bhardwaj was appointed CBSE’s new Secretary alongside Lokhande, taking over that post from Himanshu Gupta. (Source: All India Radio / newsonair.gov.in)
• This leadership change is a common source of “who’s who” exam questions. Candidates should expect the incumbent Chairperson’s name to come up directly in current-affairs sections.