India, May 14 -- Ajay Kumar, a former defence secretary, was on Tuesday appointed chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), according to an by the Union personnel ministry.

The post of UPSC chairman fell vacant after the completion of Preeti Sudan's tenure on April 29. Ajay Kumar's appointment was cleared by President Droupadi Murmu, the order stated.

A 1985-batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre, Ajay Kumar worked as defence secretary from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022.

He was one of the senior-most bureaucrats of India having retired as defence secretary. He led transformative defence reforms such as the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Agniveer scheme, AtmaNirbha...