Former Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar has been appointed as the chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He has replaced Preety Sudan, who retired on April 29 this year.
Kumar, a 1985 batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, has been appointed under provisions of Article 316(1) of the Constitution of India. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota.
As per the condition of service he may continue to this coveted constitutional position up to October 2027 as the retirement age for UPSC chairman is 65.
Who is Dr Ajay Kumar?
Kumar is the longest-serving secretary in the Ministry of defence, having also held the position of Secretary in the Department of Defence Production.
Kumar held positions, including additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and director general of the National Informatics Centre.
He was part of the team that implemented Digital India Initiatives in 2014 which included Unified Payments Interface, Aadhaar, MyGov.in, Government e Marketplace, and Jeevan Pramaan.
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