UPSC's new Chairperson Ajay Kumar: BTech from IIT-Kanpur to PhD in US – a look at his educational journey

Dr Ajay Kumar is appointed as the new UPSC chairperson. He succeeds Preeti Sudan, whose tenure ended on April 29, 2025. Before her, Manoj Soni briefly held the position but resigned in June 2024 due to personal reasons.
Dr Ajay Kumar, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, has served as India's Defence Secretary from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022, before being appointed as the UPSC chairperson. According to reports, during his tenure, he played a key role in major defence reforms, including the Agniveer recruitment scheme, the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff, and the corporatisation of ordnance factories.
Ajay Kumar began his academic journey at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, where he earned his BTech in Electrical Engineering. Notably, IIT Kanpur is ranked 278 globally, as per the QS World University Rankings 2024. Additionally, the premier engineering institute holds the 5th spot in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024 among engineering colleges in India.
Post his undergraduate education, Kumar pursued higher studies in the United States. He earned a Master's degree in Development Economics, followed by a PhD in Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota is placed within the 150–200 band in the QS World Rankings 2024, and its business school is globally respected for research and policy-oriented studies.
Over nearly four decades in service, Dr Kumar has held key roles including Defence Secretary of India. He played a central role in launching innovations like iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) and in integrating private startups with India's defence ecosystem. He also served in senior roles in the Ministry of Electronics and IT previously.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Indian Express

22 minutes ago

• Indian Express

Of the three planned freight corridors, East-coast corridor is on the priority for approval: DFCCIL MD

As the last leg of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) — Vaitarna to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal — is nearing completion, the Dedicated freight corridor corporation of India limited (DFCCIL) is eyeing for the approval of new dedicated freight corridor projects and development of more Gati Shakti Multimodal terminals. Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Heavy Haul Seminar 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, Praveen Kumar, Managing Director, DFCCIL on Friday said the company will prioritise the East-coast corridor — Kharagpur in West Bengal to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh — for approval, which is one of the three newly proposed corridors whose Detailed Project Report was submitted to the Ministry of Railways, and awaits sanction. 'The Ministry of Railways will take decisions on these projects. For sanctioning of these projects, we will prioritize the East-coast corridor, which runs from Kharagpur in West Bengal to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. After that, the decision on the approval of the East-West corridor (Kharagpur to Palghar) and the North-South corridor (Itarsi to Vijayawada) may be taken. It will require an investment of 4.5 lakh crore for these three corridors,' said Kumar. The last stretch of the 1,506 km long WDFC, from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT (Navi Mumbai) will be commissioned by December, Kumar added. The 1,856 km long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana (Punjab) to Dakuni (West Bengal), is fully operational. 'Because of these two corridors the speed of trains have increased to about 45 to 50 km/h. While the speed of trains on other Indian Railways networks is 20-25km/h. Though our section and locomotives are capable of running 100 kmph, the speed of rolling stock (wagon) is limited. Western corridor has mostly container traffic and the Eastern corridor has mostly coal traffic. Because of deployment of new technology on the corridor, the transit time has reduced by almost 50 percent. The thermal power plants have also reduced their inventory because of trustworthy freight operation on these corridors,' said Kumar to The Indian Express. He further said that because freight has shifted to the DFCC network, the passenger service has also improved. 'The punctuality of adjoining railways such as North Central Railway (NCR), North Western Railway (NWR), Northern Railway, Eastern Railway and East Central Railway (ECR) has improved because there is no pressure for running freight trains on their network. Currently, we are running around 400 trains on DFCC and the potential is to run 480 trains once the JNPT is connected. Our total network is 4 percent of Indian Railways and we carry 13 percent of total Gross tonne-kilometres (GTKM),' said DFCCIL MD. Praveen Kumar also said that DFCCIL is taking up many business development projects and establishing Gati Shakti Multi-Modal terminal in a big way. 'We have commissioned four terminals so far and in this financial year, we are planning to commission six more terminals. We have a special scheme called Truck on Train (TOT). We have started carrying milk trucks from Palanpur in Gujarat to Rewari in Haryana. It will provide last mile connectivity. This traffic was earlier going on Highways,' said Kumar. Talking about the purpose of the seminar, MD Kumar said that experts from different countries shared technologies developed in the heavy haul sector and it will be implemented in DFCC to improve efficiency of the network. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More

Time of India

43 minutes ago

• Time of India

15 injured as CPM, BJP cadres clash in Dindigul

Dindigul: A street-corner meeting organised by the CPM in Thadikombu village in Dindigul district turned violent on Friday following a clash with members of the BJP and Hindu Munnani. Around 15 people were injured in the altercation. Police detained cadres from both parties. The incident unfolded during the meeting organised as part of a statewide public campaign by the CPM to highlight people's demands and criticise govt policies. During the meeting, Dindigul union secretary R Sarath Kumar allegedly criticised the BJP-led central govt and the recent Murugan devotees' conference, naming a Hindu Munnani member in the process. This triggered objections from BJP and Hindu Munnani members who were nearby. The verbal confrontation escalated into a physical scuffle. Kumar and Hindu Munnani functionary Vinoth sustained injuries and were taken to Dindigul Government Medical College Hospital for treatment. As supporters from both parties gathered outside the hospital in Dindigul, tensions rose again with slogan shouting and attempts at a road blockade by CPM cadres. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mensualités: Bonne nouvelle pour les propriétaires étouffés par les crédits Bons plans propriétaires En savoir plus Undo During the second round of clashes near the hospital on Friday evening, BJP's Dindigul east district vice-president Bala Murugan suffered a head injury and was hospitalised. Police dispersed the crowd and detained Kumar and other CPM members, along with two BJP and Hindu Munnani supporters. Security was tightened in Dindigul due to the incident. In a statement issued late Friday, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam condemned the attack, alleging that BJP and Hindu Munnani members carried out a "murderous assault" on their cadres. "While Sarath Kumar, Shanmugavel, and Bakkiyam were peacefully campaigning, BJP and Hindu Munnani members attempted to silence dissent through violence. Even at the hospital, disabled comrade Jayanthi and others, including Ponmathi, Perumal, and Vishnuvardhan, were brutally attacked," he said. Shanmugam demanded that the Tamil Nadu govt take immediate action against the perpetrators and urged the police to register cases and ensure accountability. "This is not just an attack on our party but on democratic expression itself," he added.

Business Standard

an hour ago

• Business Standard

Yes Bank extends CEO's tenure by 6 months: Move to help SMBC steer strategy

The six-month extension given to Yes Bank chief Prashant Kumar aims to give incoming shareholder, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), room to decide the lender's leadership and strategy once the ownership changes, said industry insiders. The private-sector lender last week told exchanges the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved Kumar's extension as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) till October 6. However, Yes Bank did not say how long an extension it had sought for Kumar. Kumar has led the bank since its reconstruction in March 2020. He was first appointed the bank's administrator and later made the MD & CEO. Before that, he was deputy MD and chief financial officer of State Bank of India (SBI). Kumar received his first extension as Yes Bank MD & CEO in October 2022 for a three-year period. ALSO READ: RBI gives Yes Bank MD & CEO Prashant Kumar 6-month extension: Lender After SMBC announced that it will buy a 20 per cent stake in the private lender from SBI and others, reports said that Yes Bank's board is considering appointing a new MD & CEO and has engaged a headhunting agency to assist in the search. (SBI and other lenders had chipped in to reconstruct Yes Bank for over Rs 13,000 crore.) Kumar, over five years, has shifted the bank's focus from 'affluent' to 'mass affluent' customers and transformed its corporate-heavy book into largely retail, including MSME. Retail and SME books together constitute 60 per cent of its total loan book, compared to 36 per cent in March 2020. The bank's asset quality has improved with gross non-performing assets at 1.6 per cent at the end of March 2025, compared to almost 17 per cent at the end of March 2020. 'We are talking about the next five years because we have made the balance sheet strong enough, where the future earnings are not going to be impacted because of any past impact,' Kumar told 'Business Standard' last month. The RBI is allowing leeway for new shareholders to take their call about the bank's management, according to Abizer Diwanji, founder of NeoStrat Advisors LLP. The expectation seems to be that regulatory approvals will be secured in six months, allowing the new ownership (along with their representatives on the bank's board) to decide the bank's leadership. 'Under Kumar, the bank's retail strategy is yet to play out well. The cost-to-income ratio remains elevated, highlighting the need for more corrective measures on the retail front. Additionally, priority sector lending obligations have put pressure on margins, and key metrics like return on assets (RoA) and return on investment have shown limited improvement. That said, Kumar's conservative approach has helped keep asset quality at a manageable level,' said Diwanji. The bank aims to have a RoA of 1 per cent by FY27. In FY25, the RoA was at 0.6 per cent. It hopes to reach 1.5 per cent RoA in the next four-five years, Kumar had said previously. 'The bank has performed reasonably well, with shareholders — including SBI and other private sector banks — doubling their investment over the past five years. The six-month extension granted to the current MD & CEO provides flexibility to the new shareholder, SMBC, to decide on the leadership that will drive their strategic vision for the bank going forward,' said an industry expert, who did not wish to be named. 'Therefore, the shorter extension for the incumbent MD & CEO is likely not a reflection of performance, but rather a move to allow the new stakeholder greater flexibility in shaping the bank's future,' said the expert.