New Delhi: The President of India has appointed Dr. Ajay Kumar, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1985 batch from the Kerala cadre, as the new Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). His appointment is made under Article 316(1) of the Constitution of India. Dr. Kumar assumes charge following the completion of Preety Sudan’s term on April 29, 2025.
Dr. Kumar will serve as UPSC Chairman until October 2027 and brings a distinguished career in public service and policymaking to the role. He is widely regarded for his contributions to India’s defence sector, digital transformation initiatives, and innovation-driven policy reforms.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Dr. Kumar holds a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering. He later pursued higher education in the United States, earning an M.A. in Development Economics and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Dr. Kumar served as India’s Defence Secretary from August 2019 to October 2022. His tenure was marked by a series of transformational reforms, including the corporatisation of the 200-year-old Ordnance Factory Board, benefiting over 80,000 employees. He played a key role in advancing the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative by promoting domestic defence manufacturing and modernising armed forces procurement systems. He was also instrumental in the launch and development of the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) program between 2017 and 2022, which established a robust ecosystem for defence startups in India.
After retiring from active government service, Dr. Kumar has remained deeply engaged in India’s strategic and innovation ecosystems. He founded MGF-Kavachh, a Rs. 250 crore SEBI-approved venture capital fund aimed at supporting deep tech and aerospace startups. He also serves as an advisor to the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), is a director on the board of Sify Technologies, and is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kanpur.
Dr. Kumar’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the UPSC, as the commission continues to refine its examination and recruitment processes in response to evolving administrative and governance needs. His vast experience in innovation, technology, and policy reform is expected to bring renewed focus to transparency, efficiency, and inclusiveness in civil services recruitment.
