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Gyanesh Kumar Takes Charge as India's 26th Chief Election Commissioner.

MOUs and Agreement | Dated: 19 Feb 2025

On February 17, 2025, Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led selection committee. He succeeds Rajiv Kumar and becomes the first CEC appointed under the newly established law governing the selection of Election Commission (EC) members.

🎯 Key Highlights:

  • - He will assume office on February 19, 2025, and will serve until January 26, 2029.
  • - Before his appointment, he held the position of Election Commissioner (EC) from March 2024 to February 2025.
  • - Additionally, Dr. Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has been appointed as an Election Commissioner. He is currently serving as the Chief Secretary (CS) of Haryana.

💡 Other Important Facts:

  • (i) Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, has held key positions, including Joint Secretary (Defence Production) in MoD (2007-2012) and Additional Secretary in MHA (2019), where he contributed to the abrogation of Article 370.
  • (ii) He served as India's Parliamentary Affairs Secretary (2021-2022) and later as Cooperation Secretary (2022-2024), playing a key role in enacting the MSCS (Amendment) Act, 2023 and establishing three national cooperative bodies: BBSSL, NCOL, and NCEL.
  • (iii) The CEC and ECs are now appointed by the President based on a PM-led panel's recommendation under the 2023 Act. A search committee proposes names, service conditions match a Cabinet Secretary, and the 6-year term has no reappointment, ensuring independence as per SC’s advice.

📚 Test Your Knowledge:

Who has been recently appointed as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India?

Correct Answer: Gyanesh Kumar

🚀 Quick Recap: