The President of India has appointed Dr Ajay Kumar, Retd IAS officer of 1985 from Kerala cadre, as the new Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) under Article 316(1) of the Constitution. Dr Kumar took over the reins following the completion of Preety Sudan’s term on April 29, 2025.
Dr Kumar is a former Defence Secretary, who served from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022.
Academic and Professional Background
An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Dr Kumar earned his PhD in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, USA. His strong academic background combined with his administrative acumen has made him a well-regarded figure in both governance and policy-making circles.
- B.Tech in Electrical Engineering – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur
- M.A. in Development Economics – University of Minnesota
- Ph.D. in Business Administration – Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
He received fellowships from the University of Minnesota and was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by IIT Kanpur for his nation-building contributions.
A Distinguished Career in Public Service
Dr Kumar is eligible to serve as UPSC Chairman until October 2027. He brings over three decades of diverse administrative experience to the UPSC. He served in key positions both in the Kerala state government and at the Centre, most notably as Defence Secretary. During his tenure, he was instrumental in several transformative initiatives in India’s defence sector, including the push for indigenization and digital modernization.
Before taking charge as Defence Secretary, he also served as Secretary, Department of Defence Production, and had earlier held important roles in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
He played a pivotal role in launching the Digital India initiatives in 2014, which included transformative platforms such as Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), MyGov.in, GeM, and Jeevan Pramaan.
- Corporatization of the 200-year-old Ordnance Factory Board, impacting over 80,000 employees.
- Establishing the defence startup ecosystem through the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) program (2017–2022).
- Spearheading modernization under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Technology and Digital India
IAS Kumar played a crucial role in implementing the Digital India initiatives. While serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and as Director General of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), he contributed to launching key digital platforms such as:
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
- Aadhaar
- MyGov.in
- Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
- Jeevan Pramaan
From 2020 to 2021, he focused on policies supporting startups in emerging sectors such as AI, drones, and space technology.
Post-Retirement Roles
After retiring from service, Dr. Kumar has continued to contribute to India’s strategic and innovation ecosystem:
- Founded MGF-Kavachh, a SEBI-approved ₹250 crore venture capital fund supporting deep tech and aerospace startups.
- Appointed Advisor to the Board of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF).
- Director on the Board of Sify Technologies.
- Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kanpur, affiliated with the Departments of Management Sciences and Economic Sciences.
- Non-resident Senior Fellow at Carnegie India.
- Writes regularly for national publications and pens a monthly column titled “Off the Grid” in Business Standard.
Honors and Awards
- 2013 – EFY Electronics Leader of the Year
- 2019 – Distinguished Alumnus, IIT Kanpur
- 2019 – Honorary Doctorate, Amity University, Noida
- 2019 – Named in Top 50 Effective Bureaucrats by Asia Post
- 2021 – Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering
New Role at UPSC
His appointment comes at a crucial time, as the UPSC continues to evolve its examination processes to meet modern governance needs. With his extensive administrative background and experience in reform-driven roles, Dr Kumar is expected to further strengthen the transparency, integrity, and efficiency of the civil services recruitment process.
The UPSC, which conducts the annual Civil Services Examination in three stages – Preliminary, Main, and Interview – is headed by a Chairperson and can have up to ten members.
About UPSC
The Union Public Service Commission is a constitutional body responsible for conducting the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and various other recruitment tests for top-level bureaucratic positions in the country. The Commission is headed by a Chairperson and can have up to ten members.
As the newly appointed head, Dr Kumar will now oversee the selection of India’s next generation of civil servants.
