Dr. Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary, took the oath of office and secrecy as Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday. The oath was administered by Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.), the senior-most member of the Commission.
A 1985 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (Kerala cadre), Dr. Kumar has held several key positions in the state and central governments. His notable roles include Secretary, Defence Production, and Secretary, Ministry of Defence during his tenure at the Centre.
Dr. Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, where he earned a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering. He later completed an M.S. in Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, USA. Amity University conferred him with an honorary doctorate in 2019.
He has been a driving force behind several e-Governance projects, including Jeevan Pramaan, myGov, Pragati, biometric attendance systems, AIIMS OPD registration, and the Government’s “Cloud First” policy to expand digital public service delivery.
Dr. Kumar has authored numerous publications in reputed journals and received multiple awards, including the “Technovation Sarabhai Award,” “Champion of Change,” and the “Silver Elephant” medallion awarded by the National Scouts and Guides in 1994.