Who is the Chairman of UPSC: The primary central recruitment organisation in India, the Union Public Services Commission, is in charge of hiring all Group “A” officers for the Indian government. The UPSC administers several exams annually, including the NDA and Civil Services Exams. To work as a top-level officer in the government, you have to pass what are regarded as the hardest exams in the world.
The President of India appoints several members to the UPSC, in addition to the Chairman. Manoj Soni became the next UPSC Chairman by taking his oath. Since April 2022, he has been serving in the capacity of chairman. All the details regarding Manoj Soni are available here.
Who is the Chairman of UPSC
The Indian President appoints the head of the Union Public Services Commission. The UPSC consists of nine to eleven members, including the chairman.
Each member’s term is restricted to six years or until they become 65. The Indian Constitution has provisions about the UPSC in Part XIV Articles 315 through 323. One of the few organizations in India with complete independence and autonomy is the UPSC.
Who is the Chairman of UPSC Overview
The full overview of the UPSC Chairman is shown in the table below:
UPSC Chairman Overview | |
Appointed by | President of India |
Tenure of UPSC Chairman | 6 years (or 65 years) |
Eligibility of UPSC Chairman | An Experience of at least 10 years in the Central or State services |
Salary of UPSC Chairman | ₹30 lakhs per annum |
Current UPSC Chairman | Dr. Manoj Soni |
First Chairman | Sir Ross Barker (1926) |
First Indian UPSC Chairman | H. K. Kripalani (1947) |
First Female UPSC Chairman | Rose Millian Bathew (Kharbuli) (1992) |
Who is Dr. Manoj Soni? Age, Life, Career & More
- Mumbai was the place of Dr. Manoj Soni’s birth on February 17, 1965.
Dr. Soni is the chairman of the UPSC and an education specialist. He began serving as a member of the Commission on June 28, 2017, and he succeeded Pradeep Kumar Joshi as chairman on April 5, 2022. - On Tuesday, May 16, 2016, Mr. Soni took the UPSC chairman’s oath of office. Recently, B.B. Swain, Secretary of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and Suman Sharma, Income Tax cadre of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), joined the UPSC. Suman Sharma is an IAS officer from Gujarat.
- He was an International Relations professor at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar, before being appointed.
- Dr. Soni is a political science expert with a focus on studying international relations.
- He has held the position of vice-chancellor at both Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU Baroda) and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU).
- Additionally, he has held positions on the boards of governors for several public administration and postsecondary educational organizations.
- He also works for the Swaminarayan movement in Gujarat’s Anoopam Mission as a monk and Nishkam Karmayogi (selfless worker) as of 2020.
- The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in London, United Kingdom presented Dr. Soni with the World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership in 2015.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Chairman of the UPSC
The Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in India holds a pivotal position in one of the country’s most important constitutional bodies responsible for recruitment to various services and posts under the central government. The roles and responsibilities of the Chairman of UPSC typically include:
- Overall Administration: The Chairman oversees the overall functioning and administration of the UPSC.
- Policy Formulation: Formulating policies related to recruitment and examinations conducted by the UPSC.
- Conduct of Examinations: Ensuring the smooth conduct of various examinations like the Civil Services Examination (CSE), Engineering Services Examination (ESE), Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE), etc.
- Presiding over Meetings: Chairing meetings of the UPSC and guiding discussions on matters related to recruitment policies, exam schedules, and other administrative issues.
- Decision Making: Making or influencing decisions related to the selection process, including finalization of exam patterns, syllabus, and evaluation criteria.
- Recommendations to Government: Making recommendations to the Government of India on various appointments and promotions based on the results of the examinations conducted by the UPSC.
- Representation: Representing the UPSC in various official capacities, including interactions with other government bodies, parliamentary committees, and stakeholders.
- Public Interface: Acting as a public face of the UPSC, addressing queries and concerns from the public, candidates, and media regarding recruitment processes and examination procedures.
- Guidance and Supervision: Providing guidance and supervision to other members of the UPSC in their respective roles and responsibilities.
- Legal and Constitutional Obligations: Ensuring that all activities of the UPSC conform to the constitutional provisions and legal requirements laid down for the commission.
List of UPSC Chairman
The full list of UPSC Chairman is provided in the table below:
List of UPSC Chairman | |||
S. No. | UPSC Chairman | Tenure | |
From | To | ||
1 | Sir Ross Barker | October 1926 | August 1932 |
2 | Sir David Petrie | August 1932 | 1936 |
3 | Sir Eyre Gorden | 1937 | 1942 |
4 | Sir F. W. Robertson | 1942 | 1947 |
5 | H. K. Kripalani | 1 April 1947 | 13 January 1949 |
6 | R. N. Banerjee | 14 January 1949 | 9 May 1955 |
7 | N. Govindarajan | 10 May 1955 | 9 December 1955 |
8 | V. S. Hejmadi | 10 December 1955 | 9 December 1961 |
9 | B. N. Jha | 11 December 1961 | 22 February 1967 |
10 | Sh. K.R. Damle | 18 April 1967 | 2 March 1971 |
11 | Ranadhir Chandra Sarma Sarkar | 11 May 1971 | 1 February 1973 |
12 | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai | 5 February 1973 | 4 February 1979 |
13 | M. L. Shahare | 16 February 1979 | 16 February 1985 |
14 | H. K. L. Capoor | 18 February 1985 | 5 March 1990 |
15 | J. P. Gupta | 5 March 1990 | 2 June 1992 |
16 | Rose Millian Bathew (Kharbuli) | 23 September 1992 | 23 August 1996 |
17 | S. J. S. Chhatwal | 23 August 1996 | 30 September 1996 |
18 | J. M. Qureshi | 30 September 1996 | 11 December 1998 |
19 | Surendra Nath | 11 December 1998 | 25 June 2002 |
20 | Purna Chandra Hota | 25 June 2002 | September 2003 |
21 | Mata Prasad | September 2003 | January 2005 |
22 | S. R. Hashim | 4 January 2005 | 1 April 2006 |
23 | Gurbachan Jagat | 1 April 2006 | 30 June 2007 |
24 | Subir Dutta | 30 June 2007 | 16 August 2008 |
25 | D. P. Agrawal | 16 August 2008 | August 2014 |
26 | Rajni Razdan | 16 August 2014 | 21 November 2014 |
27 | Deepak Gupta | 22 November 2014 | 20 September 2016 |
28 | Alka Sirohi | 21 September 2016 | 3 January 2017 |
29 | David R. Syiemlieh | 4 January 2017 | 21 January 2018 |
30 | Vinay Mittal | 22 January 2018 | 19 June 2018 |
31 | Arvind Saxena (acting) | 20 June 2018 | 28 November 2018 |
32 | Arvind Saxena | 28 November 2018 | 6 August 2020 |
33 | Pradeep Kumar Joshi | 7 August 2020 | 4 April 2022 |
34 | Dr. Manoj Soni(acting) | 5 April 2022 | 16 May 2023 |
35 | Dr. Manoj Soni | 16 May 2023 | Incumbent |