Former Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has been appointed as the new chairman of the UPSC. He has served as a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre. His appointment has been approved by President Droupadi Murmu. Ajay Kumar has played a key role in the Digital India initiative.
Ajay Kumar, the former Defence Secretary, has been named the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). His appointment follows the vacancy left by the conclusion of Preeti Sudan's term on April 29. The Union Ministry of Personnel's order confirms that President Droupadi Murmu has approved Ajay Kumar's appointment. Ajay Kumar, a retired IAS officer from the 1985 Kerala cadre, held the position of Defence Secretary from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022.
Ajay Kumar, once an IAS officer, holds the record as the longest-serving secretary in the Ministry of Defence. Additionally, he served as Secretary in the Department of Defense Production. His career includes roles such as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Director General of National Informatics. Notably, he was instrumental in the execution of the Digital India initiative in 2014.
Who is Ajay Kumar?
Ajay Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Kanpur. After this, he went to the University of Minnesota in the US for further studies. He earned a master's degree in development economics and a PhD in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the same university.
Upon finishing his education, he returned to India and sat for the UPSC exam. After succeeding, he was appointed as an IAS officer and assigned to the Kerala cadre. Ajay Kumar has dedicated thirty years of his career to Kerala. He served as the Principal Secretary of the Department of Information Technology for the Government of Kerala from 2007 to 2010.