"The position was lying vacant since last five months after the term of Himanshu Prabha Ray, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, ended," Navneet Soni, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Union Culture and Tourism minister, said.
He said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet selects the person for this post, which has a three-year term.
Pande currently heads the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Madhya Pradesh's Vikram University.
NMA, under the Culture ministry, is responsible for the protection and preservation of centrally protected monuments and sites.