Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed their roles as Election Commissioners on Friday. This marks the primary appointments to the ballot panel following the implementation of latest laws regulating the choice course of for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).
The vacancies got here up after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the surprising resignation of Arun Goel on March 9. From a pool of over 200 candidates, the search committee chaired by the Law Minister shortlisted Kumar and Sandhu. Here’s all it’s essential to find out about each bureaucrat:
Who is Sukhbir Singh Sandhu?
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, born in 1963 is a retired 1998-batch IAS officer. He held the place of chief secretary in Uttarakhand and beforehand served as extra secretary within the Department of Higher Education underneath the Ministry of Human Resource Development. He additionally chaired the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Recognised for his contributions, Sandhu was honoured with the President’s Medal for his position as Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation in Ludhiana, Punjab. He was additionally awarded the President of India Medal in 2001 for his efforts throughout the Census of India.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar, a retired IAS officer from the 1988 Kerala cadre, concluded his service as Cooperation Secretary on January 31 of this 12 months. Previously, Kumar held positions reminiscent of Parliamentary Affairs Secretary on the Central authorities and Additional Secretary within the Ministry of Home Affairs throughout the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.
Kumar performed a pivotal position within the well timed introduction of the CRCS-Sahara refund portal, facilitating real depositors of 4 Multi-State Cooperative Societies underneath the Sahara Group to submit their claims.
Previously, Kumar served as Joint Secretary (Defence Production) within the Ministry of Defence from 2007 to 2012, throughout the tenure of the UPA authorities.
