GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 16th May: Dr. Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary, formally assumed charge as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.), the senior-most member of the Commission.
An accomplished technocrat and civil servant, Dr. Kumar is a 1985 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre. He brings with him over 35 years of experience in both state and central governments, having held prominent roles such as Secretary of Defence Production, Director General of NIC, and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
Dr. Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, where he studied Electrical Engineering. He holds an M.S. in Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, USA. He was also conferred an honorary Doctor of Philosophy by Amity University in 2019.
Known for his forward-thinking leadership in technology-driven governance, Dr. Kumar has led several flagship digital initiatives such as “Jeevan Pramaan” for pensioners, the PM’s “PRAGATI” platform, myGov, the biometric attendance system, and cloud-first policy for e-Governance.
Over the years, he has been honoured with numerous accolades including the Silver Elephant Award (1994), Electronics Leader of the Year (2012), Technovation Sarabhai Award (2015), and Champion of Change Award (2017).
His appointment comes at a crucial time for UPSC as it continues to adapt recruitment and civil services reforms in line with evolving administrative needs and digital governance goals.
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