Report by Shuchi Giridhar
The Ministry Of Law And Justice has appointed the eldest Election Commissioner, Shri Rajiv Kumar, as the new Chief Election Commissioner(CEC).
To ensure that elections are free and fair, an independent body called the Election Commission of India is responsible for conducting elections all over India. All elections – from Panchayat to the election of the President, are conducted by the Election Commission of India. This Election Commission is led by three Election commissioners, one of whom is designated as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
The current CEC, Shri Sushil Chandra, stepped down from his post on May 14th 2022.
The role passed on to Shri Rajiv Kumar, who will start acting as CEC from 15th May onwards.
Overlooking the President and Vice President polls taking place in July will be one of his first duties as the CEC.
He will also be overseeing many important elections such as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Kumar has worked for the government for 36 years.
He is an IAS officer of the 1984 batch from Bihar and Jharkhand. Mr. Kumar retired as the finance secretary in the year 2020. On September 1st 2020, he started as an election commissioner of the Election Commission of India.
He has also served as the chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board(PESB), which he joined in April 2020.
During his stint as a civil servant, he has acted as the director of the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SBI, NABARD; Member, Economic Intelligence Council (EIC); Member, Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC); Member, Bank Board Bureau (BBB); Member, Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), and the Civil services Board.