New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): Former Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar took charge as Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairman on Thursday.

The Oath was administered by Lt General Raj Shukla (Retd), the senior-most Member of the Commission.

According to UPSC, having pursued a BTech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Dr Ajay Kumar has done his MS in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA and PhD in Business Administration from Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, USA.

He was also conferred a Doctor of Philosophy by Amity University in 2019. Ajay Kumar belongs to the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Kerala Cadre.

During his illustrious career of more than thirty-five years, he has served in key positions in the State Government of Kerala as well as in the Centre. Some of his important assignments in the State were Managing Director, Electronics and Information Technology Department, and Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department.

At the Centre, Kumar held the significant portfolios of Director, Science and Technology; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Director General, National Informatics Centre; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; Secretary, Defence Production. In his last assignment, he served as Secretary, Ministry of Defence.

He has been instrumental in introducing several e-Governance initiatives such as 'Jeevan Pramaan' (digital life certificates for pensioners); myGov, Pragati (Prime Minister's video conference); Bio-metric Attendance System; OPD Registration System in AIIMS; 'Cloud First' policy for Government for using Cloud Service Providers, etc.

Ajay Kumar has several publications to his credit in various national and international Journals. Also, he is a recipient of several awards like 'Silver Elephant' medallion by National Scouts and Guides in 1994; 'Electronics Leader of the Year for the year 2012 for promotion of electronics industry in the country; 'Technovation Sarabhai Award' by India Electronics and Semiconductor Association in 2015; 'Champion of Change' by Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association in 2017. (ANI)