Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the new chief election commissioner of India on Monday evening, according to the Law Ministry. He is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of election commissioner.
Who Is Gyanesh Kumar
1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Gyanesh Kumar, 61, previously served in the Union Home Ministry where he played a key in drafting the bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and leading to the reorganisation of the former state into two union territories. At the time, he held the position of Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) in the Home Ministry, according to NDTV.
A year later, Kumar as an Additional Secretary, was responsible for handling documents related to the Supreme Court case on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Sources indicate that Kumar is closely associated with Home Minister Amit Shah. He retired from civil service in January last year as Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation, which is also headed by Shah.
According to the Election Commission, Kumar holds a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering in Kanpur. He has also studied Business Finance at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India and Environmental Economics at Harvard University.
He previously held various positions in the Government of Kerala, including Assistant Collector of Ernakulam, Sub Collector of Adoor, and Managing Director of the Kerala State Development Corporation for SC/ST. He also served as the Municipal Commissioner of Cochin, MD of Kerala State Cooperative Bank, Director of Industries and Commerce, and District Collector of Ernakulam.
Additionally, he was Secretary of the Goshree Islands Development Authority, MD of Trivandrum Airport Development Society, Project Director of the Kerala State Transport Project, and Resident Commissioner of Kerala House in New Delhi.
As Secretary to the Kerala government, he has handled multiple departments such as Finance Resources, Fast Track Projects, Public Works Department, Modernising Government Program, and Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs.
He has rich experience working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence; Joint Secretary & Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs; Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He superannuated on the 31st of January, 2024.
At the centre level, he has extensive experience as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Joint Secretary & Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was also a Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He retired from the service on January 31, 2024. And, on the 15th of March, 2024, he took charge as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India.
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