Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar appointed UPSC chairman: All you need to know about the 1985-batch retired IAS officer

Former Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has been appointed as the new chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), according to an order from the Union Personnel Ministry on Tuesday.

The top post at UPSC became vacant after Preeti Sudan completed her term on 29 April. Kumar’s appointment was approved by President Droupadi Murmu.

Ajay Kumar is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1985 batch, Kerala cadre. He served as India’s Defence Secretary from 23 August 2019 to 31 October 2022.


The UPSC is responsible for conducting civil services exams, which are used to select officers for top services like the IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IFS (Indian Foreign Service), and IPS (Indian Police Service). The commission is headed by a chairman and can have up to 10 members.

Currently, there are two vacancies among the commission’s members.

A UPSC chairman serves for six years or until the age of 65, whichever comes first.