logo
Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar takes oath as UPSC chairman

Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar takes oath as UPSC chairman

Hindustan Times15-05-2025

New Delhi, Former Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar on Thursday took oath as the chairman of Union Public Service Commission .
The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Lt Gen Raj Shukla , the senior most member of the Commission, an official statement said.
The post of UPSC chairman fell vacant after the completion of Preeti Sudan's tenure on April 29.
The UPSC conducts civil services examinations to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service , Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service , among others. Besides the chairman, it can have a maximum of 10 members.
At present, two posts of members are vacant in the commission.
A UPSC chairman is appointed for a term of six years or until attaining 65 years of age.
Kumar is 1985-batch former IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
During his illustrious career of more than 35 years, he has served in key positions in Kerala as well as at the Centre, said the statement issued by the Commission.
Some of his important assignments in the state were Managing Director, Electronics and Information Technology Department; Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department, it said.
At the Centre, Kumar held the significant portfolios of Director, Science & Technology; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Director General, National Informatics Centre; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology; Secretary, Defence Production, the statement said.
In his last assignment, he served as Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
After completing his Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Kumar did his Master of Science in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, US and PhD in Business Administration from Carlson School of Management from the same university, the statement said.
He has been instrumental in introducing several e-governance initiatives such as "Jeevan Pramaan" ; myGov, Pragati ; Bio-metric Attendance System; OPD registration system in AIIMS; "Cloud First" policy for government for using cloud service providers, etc, it added.
Kumar has several publications to his credit in various national and international journals.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurates direct flight services to Abu Dhabi
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurates direct flight services to Abu Dhabi

New Indian Express

time2 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurates direct flight services to Abu Dhabi

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to expand air operations in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday inaugurated direct flight services from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar to Abu Dhabi. The maiden flight with 180 passengers on board departed from BPIA earlier in the day. Addressing mediapersons, Majhi said it was a matter of pride for Odisha as citizens had long wanted flight services to Abu Dhabi. "With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guidance and Centre's support, the state government launched the direct flight to Abu Dhabi under the new destination policy," he said. IndiGo airlines will operate flights on the Abu Dhabi-Bhubaneswar route on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week. The inauguration took place on the day when the BJP government in the state is celebrating its first anniversary. The flight services were launched under Odisha's Building Management of Aviation Assets and Network (B-MAAN) initiative. The Chief Minister said the new flight to Abu Dhabi will connect Odisha with the Middle-East countries. The flight service will enhance commerce, tourism, investments and cultural exchange, he added.

‘Leveraging power of technology': Modi reflects on India's digital progress in last 11 years
‘Leveraging power of technology': Modi reflects on India's digital progress in last 11 years

Hindustan Times

time2 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

‘Leveraging power of technology': Modi reflects on India's digital progress in last 11 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reflected on the country's progress in technology and digital public infrastructure over the past decade as the BJP-led government marked 11 years in office last month, and credited the role of young Indians in shaping and driving many of these changes. 'Leveraging the power of technology has brought innumerable benefits for people. Service delivery and transparency have been greatly boosted. Furthermore, technology has become a means of empowering the lives of the poorest of poor,' PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister also shared a post by the IT ministry-led MyGovIndia, summarising key digital developments over the past decade. Titled 'Tech it to the top', the post highlighted, among other things, a 2,500-fold increase in Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transaction volumes over the past eight years, and its expansion to over seven countries, including a recent entry into Europe via France. According to the recent National Statistical Office's Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom 2025, nearly 99.5% of Indians aged 15-29, who can make online banking transactions, said they are capable of using UPI for digital payments. In a separate post, the Centre shared updates on its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, which it said helped transfer over ₹44 lakh crore across 322 schemes and saved ₹3.48 lakh crore by cutting out leakages. The scale-up of Aadhaar, now used by over 1.4 billion people, was also presented as a pillar of digital governance. The post also touched upon India's innovations in the drone sector, mentioning how it has empowered rural women in initiatives like 'Drone Didis' to strategic deployments in Operation Sindoor. 'Our self-reliance is soaring with 550+ Indian drone companies emerging, and 14,000+ SwaYaan beneficiaries ready to fly,' the post read. In the field of artificial intelligence, the government said it has supported the development of AI Centres of Excellence and AI tools such as Chitralekha (an open-source video transcreation platform) and Everest 1.0 (a multilingual AI model developed under the Hanooman project). The government also lauded the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), a ₹1.55-lakh-crore production-PLI scheme aimed at attracting investment and promoting local chip design. The mission, launched by the IT ministry in 2021, has so far approved six semiconductor units across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, with many more to be announced soon. In the space sector, ISRO's launch of 393 foreign satellites was cited as a marker of progress, along with a proposed goal of setting up a Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035. Finally, the government noted that its digital literacy campaign in rural areas, PMGDISHA, had trained over 6.3 crore individuals achieving its targets ahead of schedule. The campaign comes as part of a broader effort by the government to showcase achievements across sectors, as it completes over a decade in office since PM Modi took over on May 26, 2014.

Gadkari seeks 5% GST on crude ethanol to push flex-fuel cars, warns against petrol parity
Gadkari seeks 5% GST on crude ethanol to push flex-fuel cars, warns against petrol parity

Time of India

time3 hours ago

  • Time of India

Gadkari seeks 5% GST on crude ethanol to push flex-fuel cars, warns against petrol parity

As the Centre and states gear up for a major overhaul of India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has called for a reduction in the GST rate on crude ethanol—from the current 18% to 5%—in a bid to support the production and adoption of flex-fuel vehicles , according to a report by ToI. At present, ethanol that is used under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme attracts a concessional GST rate of 5%. However, crude ethanol continues to be taxed at the higher rate of 18%. A source told TNN that Gadkari has urged for parity between the two, cautioning that taxing crude ethanol at such a high rate could discourage people from opting for vehicles that run entirely on ethanol. "Why will people go for these vehicles if the price of crude ethanol is equal to or more than that of petrol?" the source quoted Gadkari as saying. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Top 25 Most Beautiful Women In The World Articles Vally Undo Although over 400 fuel outlets in the country currently offer 100% ethanol, consumer interest remains weak. Gadkari believes this trend can be reversed if a more favourable tax policy is introduced for crude ethanol. Gadkari's appeal comes as the Union government is in the process of re-evaluating the GST structure. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and a team of officials are reviewing various rationalisation proposals ahead of detailed consultations with states. The larger exercise aims to streamline the GST regime, enhance revenue efficiency, and address classification issues that have emerged since the tax was introduced in 2017. Live Events Earlier attempts to bring about change through two separate Groups of Ministers (GoMs) did not yield any actionable consensus. A third GoM is now studying the issue of cesses, particularly the compensation cess, which is set to lapse in March next year. India's GST structure currently features four primary tax slabs: 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. While the majority of items fall under the 5% bracket, most of the revenue is generated from the 18% slab. Industry bodies have long been pressing for a simplification of this framework, especially a merger of the 12% and 18% slabs into a single rate of 15–16%. However, such a move may lead to revenue losses and face political opposition from states. Gadkari's proposal to lower GST on crude ethanol aligns with the country's wider energy and transport objectives, including reducing reliance on imported oil and encouraging the use of alternative fuels . It is still uncertain whether this suggestion will be included in the final set of GST reforms currently under consideration.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store