Ajay Kumar | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Dr._Ajay_Kumar-Former_Defence_Secretary_of_India.png) Kumar in 2023 | |
| 38th Defence Secretary of India | |
| In office 23 August 2019 – 31 October 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
| Minister | Rajnath Singh |
| Preceded by | Sanjay Mitra |
| Succeeded by | Giridhar Aramane |
| 39th Defence Production Secretary of India | |
| In office 1 December 2017 – 23 August 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
| Minister | Nirmala Sitharaman |
| Preceded by | Ashok Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Subhash Chandra, IAS (Karnataka, 1986) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ajay Kumar 2 October 1962 Uttar Pradesh |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | IIT Kanpur (B.Tech) University of Minnesota (MS, PhD) |
| Occupation | IAS officer |
| Profession | Civil servant |
Dr. Ajay Kumar ( born 2 October 1962) is the former Defence Secretary of India.[1][2] He is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1985 batch. Dr. Ajay Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota.
Kumar is the longest-serving secretary in the Ministry of defence, having also held the position of Secretary in the Department of Defence Production. Kumar held positions, including additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and director general of the National Informatics Centre. He was part of the team that implemented Digital India Initiatives in 2014 which included Unified Payments Interface, Aadhaar, MyGov.in, Government e Marketplace, and Jeevan Pramaan.
Kumar's work involved setting up the defence startup ecosystem through the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) [3] program from 2017 to 2022 and advancing the Digital India initiatives. Between 2020 and 2021, he worked on policy matters to support startups in the AI, drone, and space industries, and from 2018 to 2022, he worked on enhancing the performance of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). During his tenure, the defence industry ecosystem underwent significant changes, particularly under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
As a former Defence Secretary, Kumar worked in the corporatization of the Ordnance Factories Board, a 200-year-old institution employing 80,000 people.[4]
- ^ "Dr Ajay Kumar Retires as Defence Secretary: An Illustrious Career Comes to End | APAC News Network". 31 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Dr Ajay Kumar appointed Defence Secretary". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Defence Ministry's iDEX-DIO signs its 100th innovation contract". India Today. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ www.ETGovernment.com. "Corporatization propels Defence PSUs into profit making companies with Rs 8400 crore turnover in first 6 months - ET Government". ETGovernment.com. Retrieved 30 July 2024.