NEW DELHI: Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar was on Friday appointed the Election Commissioner. Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, will take charge on August 31 when Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa leaves office, the Union law ministry said.
Kumar retired as Union Finance Secretary in February this year. In April, he was appointed chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board. He has BSc and LLB degrees, apart from a masters in public policy and sustainability.
Lavasa is set to join the Manila-headquartered Asian Development Bank as vice-president. He will be replacing veteran banker Diwakar Gupta, whose term at the ADB will end on August 31. Lavasa, who recently resigned as EC, still had over two years left in his term.
He was also next in line of succession to become the Chief Election Commissioner after incumbent Sunil Arora retires in April next year. In another development, Water Resources Secretary Upendra Pratap Singh was on Friday given the additional charge of Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation.
Ashwani Bhatia appointed MD of SBI
The government has appointed Ashwani Bhatia as managing director of State Bank of India. Bhatia is currently serving as MD and CEO of SBI Mutual Fund, and had been tipped to be a front runner for the post through the selection process.