Former defence secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar assumes charge as UPSC chairman

Dr. Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary, officially assumed charge as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Commission, the oath of office and secrecy was administered by Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.), the senior-most member of the UPSC.

An officer of the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from the Kerala cadre, Dr. Kumar brings over 35 years of distinguished service in various capacities at both the state and central levels. In Kerala, he held key roles such as Managing Director of the Electronics and Information Technology Department and Principal Secretary, Information Technology. At the Centre, he served in several significant positions, including Director, Department of Science & Technology; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications and IT; Director General, National Informatics Centre; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology; and Secretary, Defence Production. His most recent role was as Secretary, Ministry of Defence.

Dr. Kumar is credited with driving several major e-Governance initiatives such as Jeevan Pramaan (digital life certificates for pensioners), MyGov portal, PRAGATI (Prime Minister’s multi-platform governance initiative), the Biometric Attendance System, OPD Registration System in AIIMS, and the “Cloud First” policy for promoting cloud services across government departments.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Dr. Kumar holds a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering. He pursued an M.S. in Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy by Amity University in 2019.

Dr. Kumar has authored several papers in national and international journals and is the recipient of multiple honours, including the Silver Elephant medallion by the National Scouts and Guides (1994), Electronics Leader of the Year (2012), Technovation Sarabhai Award by the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (2015), and Champion of Change by the Consumer Electronics & Appliances Manufacturers Association (2017).