Ajay Kumar (born 2 October 1962) is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, of the batch of 1985. He is served the Defence Secretary of India. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota and was awarded separate two fellowships by the University of Minnesota. He is accredited to scale up defense exports to approximately 13,000 crores for 2021-22 with the introduction of modern warfare capabilities and disruptive technologies and innovations. He established the iDEX initiative to help create a conducive and cost-effective defense start-up ecosystem that fosters innovation and technology development. He is in charge of Project 75I, which is developing next-generation submarines and fighters and laying the groundwork for a future marine and aerospace industrial ecosystem in India.

Education

Kumar has a

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of studi ...

in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, has a master's degree in development economics from the University of Minnesota, and has a PhD degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In 2019, he was felicitated as a distinguished alumnus by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for his professional excellence and nation-building efforts.

Career

Kumar has served in various posts in both the Government of India and the Government of Kerala, such as Principal Secretary (Information Technology), managing director of the

Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON) is an electronic enterprise situated in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1973 by K. P. P. Nambiar. Location Units of KELTRON are in the following cities of Ind ...

, 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 Palghat (now Palakkad) district in the Kerala government; and as the Defence Production Secretary,

additional secretary Additional Secretary (often abbreviated as AS, GoI or Union Additional Secretary or Additional Secretary to Government of India) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of thi ...

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 A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...

, 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. Ajay kumar spent three decade of his service with the Kerala state government where he headed three different departments. Kumar also served as a private secretary to a

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (now Ministry of New and Renewable Energy).

Principal Secretary

He was Principal Secretary to Government of Kerala, Information Technology Department from October 2007 to December 2010.

Joint Secretary

Kumar held the post of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and additional charge of

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

at National Informatics Centre from 2010 to 2014.

Additional Secretary

He was Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology during 2015 - 2019

Defence Production Secretary

Kumar was appointed as the Defence Production Secretary by the prime minister-headed

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appoints several top posts within the Government of India. The committee is composed of the Prime Minister of India (''ex-officio'' Chairman) and the Minister of Home Affairs. Originally the Minis ...

in November 2017, he assumed office on 1 December 2017. He served as Defence Production Secretary till 23 August 2019 and was succeeded by Subhash Chandra, an IAS officer of Karnataka cadre (1986 batch).

Defence Secretary

Kumar was appointed as Union Defence Secretary on 21 August 2019, and he assumed office on 23 August 2019 when Sanjay Mitra retired. Kumar travelled to Paris along with

Raksha Mantri The Minister of Defence (''Rakshā Mantrī'') is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high ranking minister of the Government of India. The Defence Minister is one of the most senior offices in the Union Council of Ministers as well as be ...

Rajnath Singh to take delivery of first Rafale fighter jet. On 4 June 2020, Kumar tested positive for COVID-19.

Secretary, Department of Defence Production

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar was assigned additional charge of Secretary, Department of Defence Production on 30th Nov 2021.

Professional work

Dr Ajay Kumar, the Defence Secretary, commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Saksham, the fifth of the 105-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) class. ICGS Saksham's commissioning has enhanced the ability of the ICG to fulfill the diverse maritime tasks. In March 2022, he asserted that defence imports have been decreasing continuously, with the focus been given on emerging defence technologies like cyberspace and underwater warfare and enhancing R&D investments aimed at optimizing defence operations and augmenting military efficiency. On 20 April 2022, Kumar launched INS Vagsheer, the sixth Scorpene-class submarine under Project-75, at

Mazagon Dock Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platfo ...

in Mumbai.

Honours and awards

He received distinguished Alumni award from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 2019 for the entrepreneurship excellence work. Kumar is credited for the creation of an Electronics Development Fund, which focuses on developing technology start-ups in defence sector. Ajay Kumar was named one of the top-50 effective bureaucrats in the year 2019 in a survey conducted by Asia Post for adhering to the cardinal principles of civil service that is professionalism, anonymity, integrity and neutrality. * 2013 - EFY - Electronics Leader of Year * 2019 - Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Amity University, Noida * 2019 - Top 50 effective bureaucrats by Asia Post * 2019 - Distinguished Alumni, IIT Kanpur * 2021 - Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering in 2021

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Ajay 1962 births Living people IIT Kanpur alumni University of Minnesota alumni Carlson School of Management alumni Indian Administrative Service officers People from Uttar Pradesh Defence Secretaries of India District magistrate