THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, May 15: Dr. Ajay Kumar, a seasoned bureaucrat and former Defence Secretary, officially took over as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday.
His oath of office was administered by Lt General Raj Shukla (Retd), the senior-most member of the Commission.
A 1985-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, Kumar brings with him over 35 years of experience across various roles at both the state and central levels.
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At the Centre, he held several key positions, including Director General of the National Informatics Centre, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and IT, Secretary of Defence Production, and ultimately, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
In the Kerala government, he served as Principal Secretary of the IT Department and Managing Director of the Electronics and IT Department.
Throughout his career, Kumar has been credited with pioneering numerous digital governance initiatives. His contributions include launching platforms like Jeevan Pramaan for pensioners, myGov, Pragati (Prime Minister’s video conference), and systems like the biometric attendance and AIIMS OPD registration. He also played a vital role in promoting the “Cloud First” policy for government services.
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Academically, Dr. Kumar holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, an MS in Applied Economics, and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, USA. In 2019, Amity University also conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy.
