Retired bureaucrat Rajiv Kumar was appointed the election commissioner on Friday in place of Ashok Lavasa, who has resigned. Kumar, a retired 1984-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, will have a five-year tenure and retire in 2025. According to rules, an election commissioner has six years on the post or till he turns 65, whichever is earlier. “In pursuance of clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Rajiv Kumar, (IAS retired) as the election commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office vice Shri Ashok Lavasa, election commissioner who has resigned with effect August 31,” official notification of the Ministry of Law and Justice said. Kumar brought in fundamental changes in the banking sector and played a crucial role in merging ten public sector banks into four, officials said.

Source: The Hindu August 21, 2020 19:24 UTC