Former Indian defence secretary joins as advisor to USISPF Board

San Francisco, Nov 15 (PTI): Former Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has joined as an advisor to the Board at the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum, a media announcement sai.

Former Indian defence secretary joins as advisor to USISPF Board

San Francisco, Nov 15 (PTI): Former Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has joined as an advisor to the Board at the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum, a media announcement said.

As the Defence Secretary of India, Kumar was tasked with the overall responsibility of defence between August 2019 and October 2022.

“Dr Kumar brings in over three decades of expertise and understanding of the crucial nexus between defence and critical and emerging technology,” said Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of USISPF.

Kumar has the distinction of being the longest-serving secretary in the Ministry of Defence where he served as Defence Secretary and also served as Secretary in the Department of Defence Production.

“At a time when the US and India are strengthening their partnership in the fields of iCET and INDUS-X, Dr Kumar’s experience and perspective have played a pivotal part in boosting technology cooperation, strengthening the defence framework, and enhancing the defence and space ecosystem in the country,” Aghi said.

Kumar is credited with transforming the defence industry ecosystem under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat, a concept of self-reliance ushered in by Prime Minister Modi.

He also conceptualised and implemented the historic corporatisation of the 200-year-old and 80,000-employee-strong Ordnance Factories Board and the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Programme, a start-up ecosystem that today powers new technologies in defence, space, drones, and AI.

“It is a privilege to be invited to the Board of Advisors of the US-India Strategic Policy Forum at an extremely crucial time in the history of the relationship between the two nations. I am excited about the opportunity to work towards enhancing this relationship,” Kumar said in a statement issued by USISPF.

Before joining the Ministry of Defence, Kumar served in different capacities in the Electronics and Information Technology (IT) sector, including holding key positions as additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India; director general, National Informatics Centre; principal secretary in Government of Kerala and Managing Director of KELTRON, the statement said.

He is credited with having been part of the team of leaders who implemented key initiatives of Digital India under Prime Minister Modi in 2014, including UPI, the world’s largest digital payment system; Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric digital identity system, myGov, the Government-e Marketplace, and Jeevan Pramaan, it said. PTI LKJ RHL RHL

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