New Chief Election Commissioner: Rajiv Kumar will be the new Chief Election Commissioner replacing Sushil Chandra. On Thursday i.e. May 12 Former Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog Rajiv Kumar was appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner.
He will take over on May 15, according to a notification issued by the Law Ministry. The tenure of outgoing CEC Sushil Chandra ends on May 14. Making the notification public, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju wished Kumar.
Rajiv Kumar holds two bachelor's degrees, one in Zoology and the other in law, as well as a master's degree in public policy and sustainability.
He is known as a man who manages to find solutions to difficult problems and is said to have enjoyed the confidence of the Prime Minister's Office.
Rajiv Kumar was the person who implemented the controversial 360-degree evaluation system for the promotion of senior IAS officers during his two-year stint in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
He spent two and a half years as Financial Services Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and personally oversaw the government's overhaul of public sector banks, implementing the EASE agenda aimed at improving their functioning.
Stressed on the need to reform the balance sheets of state-run banks, making them focus on the recovery of bad loans to improve profitability.
He also initiated the mega-merger of Bank of Baroda with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank in 2018, followed by another mega-round of merger in which 10 state-owned banks were merged into four in 2019.
Rajiv Kumar is also credited with finding a buyer for IDBI Bank in the form of Life Insurance Corporation of India, enabling the government to sell a majority stake in the loss-making lender.
