Dr Ajay Kumar again gets additional charge of Secretary Defence Production

New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has given the additional charge of Secretary of Department of Defence Production to the Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar (IAS) on Tuesday. "The Competent Authority has approved the assignment of the additional charge of the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Production to Shri Ajay Kumar, lAS (KL:1985), Secretary, Department of Defence with immediate effect and till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier", the DoPT order dated November 30 read.

Kumar has been given additional charge of Secretary of Department of Defence Production upon unanticipated repatriation of the outgoing Secretary Defence Production Raj Kumar (IAS) who is a 1987 batch IAS of Gujarat cadre. He has been repatriated to his parent cadre at the request of the state government.

Dr Kumar has held the position of Secretary, Department of Defence Production from December 2017 to January 2019. He has also held additional charge of the post between December 2020 to February 2021.

Dr Ajay Kumar (IAS) Profile

Dr Ajay Kumar is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre. He has a bachelor of technology (B Tech) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur) and has a Master of Science (M Sc) in development economics from the University of Minnesota. Kumar also has a Doctor of Philosophy degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Dr Ajay Kumar was chosen in the list of "Most Effective Bureaucrats 2019," in a survey conducted by PSU Watch, Fame India & Asia Post. He was felicitated as distinguished alumni by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for his professional excellence and nation-building efforts.

Early career

Kumar has served in various posts in both the state government of Kerala and central government, such as Principal Secretary (Information Technology), Managing Director of the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation, Secretary (Industries), Managing Director of the Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, General Manager in the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and as the District Magistrate and Collector of the Palakkad district in the Kerala government.

Kumar has also served as the Defence Production Secretary, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Joint Secretary in the Department of Information Technology of the now-erstwhile Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, director in the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology and as a deputy secretary in the Department of Home of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Indian government.

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