Arvind Saxena Explained

Office:Chairman, Union Public Service Commission
Term Start:28 November 2018
Term End:7 August 2020
Predecessor:Vinay Mittal
Successor:Pradeep Kumar Joshi
Office1:Member, Union Public Service Commission
Term Start1:May 2015
Office2:Special Secretary in-charge, Aviation Research Centre
Term Start2:December 2014
Term End2:May 2015
Birth Date:8 August 1955
Birth Place:Delhi, India
Occupation:Civil servant
Alma Mater:Delhi College of Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Nationality:Indian

Arvind Saxena (born 8 August 1955)[1] is an Indian civil servant and is the former chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).[2] A 1978-batch officer, he served in the Indian Postal Service for 10 years, before joining the Research and Analysis Wing in 1988, and the UPSC in 2015.[3]

Education

Saxena earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi, before pursuing the master's degree in systems management from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.[1]

Career

He joined the Indian Postal Service in 1978 and worked as Divisional Head of Postal Services at Bharatpur and Kota. In 1982, Saxena was appointed Officer on Special Duty in-charge of arrangements for postal services for the Asian Games and the seventh meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. He later took over as Philately Officer at the Postal Directorate in New Delhi and subsequently as OSD for modernization of the Stamps and Seals Factory in Aligarh. He was posted as Director, Mail Planning Operations in Mumbai, looking after mail arrangements in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, before being selected as Principal of the Postal Training Centre in Saharanpur. He also underwent a program for trainers at the University of Manchester in the UK.[1]

In 1988, Saxena left the Postal Service to join the Research and Analysis Wing, where he "specialised in the study of strategic developments in neighbouring countries",[3] including Nepal, China and Pakistan.[1] Apart from serving in various countries, he served in the Indian States of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. He took over as Special Secretary in-charge of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC) in December 2014,[4] where he worked in strengthening ties with similar agencies of other countries while interacting closely with the Chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces and heads of the Central Armed Police Forces. Saxena is a recipient of awards for Meritorious Services (2005) and Distinguished Services (2012), conferred by the Prime Minister of India.

Union Public Service Commission

In May 2015, he joined the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as its member and was appointed its acting chairman in June 2018, after the retirement of Vinay Mittal.[5] In November 2018, he was appointed the full-time chairman.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arvind Saxena Profile. UPSC. 25 November 2018.
  2. News: Arvind Saxena appointed UPSC chairman . 3 December 2018 . The Times of India . Press Trust of India . 28 November 2018.
  3. News: Arvind Saxena appointed acting UPSC chief . 3 December 2018 . The Times of India . Press Trust of India . 10 June 2018.
  4. News: Khanna is new RAW chief . 3 December 2018 . . 21 December 2014 . en.
  5. Web site: Arvind Saxena appointed acting chairman of UPSC: to take over from Vinay Mittal on 20 June. First Post. 25 November 2018.