View source for Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission

{{Short description|Head of the Union Public Service Commission}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Chairperson
| body = the Union Public Service Commission
| incumbent = [[Ajay Kumar (civil servant)|Ajay Kumar]], [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]
| flag = Flag of India.svg
| flagcaption = Flag of India
| insignia = 
| insigniacaption = Emblem of India
| incumbentsince = {{start date|2025|05|15|df=yes}}
| department = [[Union Public Service Commission]]
| member_of = [[Union Public Service Commission]]
| reports_to = The [[President of India|president]]
| appointer = The [[President of India|president]]
| appointer_qualified = {{small|(with the [[Union Government]]'s consent)}}
| seat = [[Dholpur House]], [[New Delhi]]
| termlength = 6 years or until the age of 65 years
| termlength_qualified = {{small|(whichever is earlier)}}
| formation = {{start date and age|1926|10|01|df=yes}}
| first = Ross Barker
| website = {{url|upsc.gov.in}}
| image = Dr. Ajay Kumar-Former Defence Secretary of India.png
| status = Head of the commission
| constituting_instrument = [[Part XIV of the Constitution of India]]
| salary = {{INRConvert|250000}} per month under [[Central Pay Commission|pay level 18]]
| insigniasize = 150px
}}

The '''Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission''' is the head of the [[Union Public Service Commission]] '''(UPSC)''', an Indian central [[Recruitment|recruiting agency]]. The chairperson is responsible for overseeing the conduct of exams, the transfer and promotion of higher officers and civil servants. The UPSC comes under the [[Department of Personnel and Training]], Government of India. The chairperson reports directly to the [[president of India]].

== Background ==
{{see also|Part XIV of the Constitution of India}}
=== Term of office ===
The term for the UPSC chairperson is fixed up to six years or until reaching the age of 65, whichever is earlier. Under [[Part XIV of the Constitution of India#316|Article 316 of the Indian Constitution]], the president appoints the members of the UPSC, including the chairperson. The chairperson's tenure is term-limited and ineligible for re-appointment as per [[Article 319 of the Constitution of India|Article 319]].

=== Qualification of office ===
The chairperson of the UPSC must be a senior civil officer from [[All India Services]] or [[Central Civil Services]], who has held positions under the [[Government of India]] or any state government for at least ten years. Any [[academician]] or a senior military officer can also be appointed as UPSC chairperson if served as a member of the commission itself. The chairperson or members of any state public service commissions can also be appointed as the chairperson.

== Dismissals ==
The chairperson can be removed under [[Article 317 of the Constitution of India|Article 317]], by order of the president on the ground of "misbehavior" after the Supreme Court, on a reference being made to it by the president, has, on inquiry reported that the chairman or such other member ought to be removed. The president may also remove the chairperson of the commission for:

* being declared [[Insolvency|insolvent]]; or
* engaging in any paid employment outside during their term of office ; or
* being unfit to continue in office because of [[infirmity]] of [[mind]] or body.<ref>{{cite web |title=Removal and suspension of a member of a Public Service Commission |url=https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-317-removal-and-suspension-of-a-member-of-a-public-service-commission/ |website=Constitution of India |access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref>

== Responsibilities ==
The chairperson, along with other members of the UPSC, manages the recruitment of officers of All India Services and Central Civil Services, the transfer and promotion of higher officers, and deputation from one state to another. The chairperson's duties and service fall under the ''Union Public Service Commission (Members) Regulations, 1969''. Upon the advice of the UPSC members, the tenure of any officer posted in a state or the union can be extended beyond the age of 60 years.

== List of the chairpersons ==
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+ List of the chairpersons of the Union Public Service Commission since 1947
!Chairpersons
!Service or<br />profession
!Tenure start
!Tenure end
!Duration of office
!Previous post
!colspan=2|Appointed by
|-
|H. K. Kripalani
| rowspan="6" |[[Indian Civil Service|ICS]]
|1 April 1947
|13 January 1949
|{{ayd|1947|04|01|1949|01|13}}
|[[Chief Secretary of Maharashtra|Chief Secretary of Bombay Province]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=BHATNAGAR |first=ARUN |date=2015-08-07 |title=It was the Indian Civil Service that kept Pak going in the early years |url=https://sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/2590-it-was-indian-civil-service-kept-pak-going-early-years# |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=The Sunday Guardian Live |language=en-US}}</ref>
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party colour|Independent}}" rowspan=2|
|[[Louis Mountbatten]]
|-
|[[Rabindra Nath Banerjee|R. N. Banerjee]]
|14 January 1949
|9 May 1955
|{{ayd|1949|01|14|1955|05|09}}
|[[Home Secretary of India]]
|[[C. Rajagopalachari]]
|-
|N. Govindarajan
|10 May 1955
|9 December 1955
|{{ayd|1955|05|10|1955|12|09}}
|style="text-align: center;" |
—
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party colour|INC}}" rowspan=3|
|rowspan=3|[[Rajendra Prasad]]
|-
|V. S. Hejmadi
|10 December 1955
|9 December 1961
|{{ayd|1955|12|10|1961|12|09}}
|style="text-align: center;" |
—
|-
|B. N. Jha
|11 December 1961
|22 February 1967
|{{ayd|1961|12|11|1967|02|22}}
|[[Cabinet Secretary of India]]
|-
|K. R. Damle
|18 April 1967
|2 March 1971
|{{ayd|1967|04|18|1971|03|02}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Agriculture (India)|Ministry of Food and Agriculture]], [[Government of India]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=K. R. Damle |first1=Chairman |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.197/page/n3/mode/2up |title=Report of the Oil Price Enquiry Committee, 1961 |last2=N. R. Law |first2=Secretary |last3=C. P. Sinha |first3=Member |last4=N. Krishnan |first4=Member |date=1961 |publisher=New Delhi, Manager of Publications |pages=5}}</ref>
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party colour|Independent}}" rowspan=3|
|[[Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan]]
|-
|[[Ranadhir Chandra Sarma Sarkar|R. C. S. Sarkar]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[West Bengal|WB]]
|11 May 1971
|1 February 1973
|{{ayd|1971|05|11|1973|02|01}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]], [[Government of India]]
|rowspan=2|[[V. V. Giri]]
|-
|[[Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai|A. R. Kidwai]]
|[[Academician]]
|5 February 1973
|4 February 1979
|{{ayd|1973|02|05|1979|02|04}}
|[[Professor]] at [[Aligarh Muslim University]]
|-
|M. L. Shahare
|style="text-align: center;" |
—
|16 February 1979
|16 February 1985
|{{ayd|1979|02|16|1985|02|16}}
|style="text-align: center;" |
—
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party colour|Janata Party}}" rowspan=1|
|[[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]]
|-
|H. K. L. Kapoor
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[Gujarat|GJ]]
|18 February 1985
|5 March 1990
|{{ayd|1985|02|16|1990|03|05}}
|[[Chief secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] of the [[Government of Gujarat]]
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party colour|INC}}" rowspan=7|
|[[Zail Singh]]
|-
|J. P. Gupta
|[[Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers|IRSME]]
|5 March 1990
|2 June 1992
|{{ayd|1992|03|05|1992|06|02}}
|[[Chairperson of the Railway Board]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dutta |first=Amrita Nayak |date=2018-11-30 |title=New UPSC chief Arvind Saxena among the few non-IAS officers heading recruiting body |url=https://theprint.in/india/governance/new-upsc-chief-arvind-saxena-among-the-few-non-ias-officer-heading-recruiting-agency/156622/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref>
|[[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]
|-
|R. M. Bathew (Kharbuli)
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[Meghalaya|ML]]
|23 September 1992
|23 August 1996
|{{ayd|1992|09|23|1996|08|23}}
|Member of the [[Meghalaya Public Service Commission]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=History: Meghalaya Public Service Commission |url=https://www.mpsc.nic.in/history.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.mpsc.nic.in}}</ref>
|rowspan=3|[[Shankar Dayal Sharma]]
|-
|S. J. S. Chhatwal
|[[Indian Foreign Service|IFS]]
|23 August 1996
|30 September 1996
|{{ayd|1996|08|23|1996|09|30}}
|[[High Commission of India, Ottawa|High Commissioner of India to Canada]]
|-
|J. M. Qureshi
|[[Indian Police Service|IPS]]{{Nbnd}}[[Madhya Pradesh|MP]]
|30 September 1996
|11 December 1998
|{{ayd|1996|09|30|1996|12|11}}
|[[Director general of police|Director general]] of the [[Madhya Pradesh Police]]
|-
|[[Lieutenant general (India)|Lt. Gen]] Surinder Nath
|[[Indian Army|Army]]{{Nbnd}}[[Regiment of Artillery (India)|Regiment of Artillery]]
|11 December 1998
|25 June 2002
|{{ayd|1998|12|11|2002|06|25}}
|[[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Vice Chief of the Army Staff]]
|rowspan=2|[[K. R. Narayanan]]
|-
|[[Purna Chandra Hota|P. C. Hota]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{Nbnd}}[[Odisha|OD]]
|25 June 2002
|8 September 2003
|{{ayd|2002|06|25|2003|09|08}}
|[[Additional secretary to the Government of India|Additional Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Labour (India)|Ministry of Labour]], [[Government of India]]
|-
|[[Mata Prasad]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{Nbnd}}[[Uttar Pradesh|UP]]
|9 September 2003
|4 January 2005
|{{ayd|2003|09|08|2005|01|04}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation|Ministry of Water Resources]], [[Government of India]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-09-09 |title=Mata Prasad takes over as UPSC chairman |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mata-Prasad-takes-over-as-UPSC-chairman/articleshow/173304.cms |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party color|Independent}}" rowspan=4|
|rowspan=4|[[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]
|-
|S. R. Hashim
|[[Academician]]
|4 January 2005
|1 April 2006
|{{ayd|2005|01|04|2006|04|01}}
|[[Embassy of India, Kazakhstan|Ambassador of India]] to [[Kazakhstan]]
|-
|[[Gurbachan Jagat]]
|[[Indian Police Service|IPS]]{{Nbnd}}AGMUT
|1 April 2006
|30 June 2007
|{{ayd|2006|04|01|2007|06|30}}
|[[Director general of police|Director General]] of [[Border Security Force]]
|-
|Subir Dutta
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[West Bengal|WB]]
|30 June 2007
|16 August 2008
|{{ayd|2007|06|30|2008|08|16}}
|[[Defence Secretary (India)|Defence Secretary of India]]
|-
|[[D. P. Agrawal (academic)|D. P. Agrawal]]
|[[Academician]]
|16 August 2008
|16 August 2014
|{{ayd|2008|08|16|2014|08|16}}
|[[Director (education)|Director]] of [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management|Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management]], Gwalior
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party color|INC}}" rowspan=5|
|[[Pratibha Patil]]
|-
|[[Rajni Razdan]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[Haryana|HR]]
|16 August 2014
|21 November 2014
|{{ayd|2014|08|16|2014|11|21}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions#Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances|Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances]], Government of India<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-08-16 |title=Rajni Razdan takes over as new UPSC chief |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rajni-razdan-takes-over-as-new-upsc-chief/articleshow/40318126.cms |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>
| rowspan=4|[[Pranab Mukherjee]]
|-
|[[Deepak Gupta (civil servant)|Deepak Gupta]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[Jharkhand|JH]]
|22 November 2014
|20 September 2016
|{{ayd|2014|11|22|2016|09|20}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Ministry of New and Renewable Energy]], Government of India<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-24 |title=Deepak Gupta made UPSC chairman |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/deepak-gupta-made-upsc-chairman/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|Alka Sirohi
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{nbnd}}[[Madhya Pradesh|MP]]
|21 September 2016
|3 January 2017
|{{ayd|2016|09|22|2017|01|03}}
|[[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]] to the [[Department of Personnel and Training]], Government of India<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-01-04 |title=A Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, Alka Sirohi, assumes office as Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Before taking over her new charge, Sirohi - officer of 1974 batch - served as Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training, ministry of personnel. |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A-Madhya-Pradesh-cadre-IAS-officer-Alka-Sirohi-assumes-office-as-Member-Union-Public-Service-Commission-UPSC-Before-taking-over-her-new-charge-Sirohi-officer-of-1974-batch-served-as-Secretary-Department-of-Personnel-Training-ministry-of-personnel-/articleshow/11364725.cms |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
|-
|[[David R. Syiemlieh]]
|[[Academician]]
|4 January 2017
|21 January 2018
|{{ayd|2017|01|04|2018|01|21}}
|Vice-Chancellor of [[Rajiv Gandhi University]], Arunachal Pradesh<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-05-29 |title=RGU VC appointed UPSC member |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/RGU-VC-appointed-UPSC-member/articleshow/13647747.cms |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
|-
|[[Vinay Mittal]]
|[[Indian Railway Traffic Service|IRTS]]
|22 January 2018
|19 June 2018
|{{ayd|2018|01|22|2018|06|19}}
|[[Chairperson of the Railway Board]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-11 |title=babus of india: Know your UPSC Member and ex-Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal |url=http://www.babusofindia.com/2013/08/know-your-upsc-member-and-ex-railway.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611082939/http://www.babusofindia.com/2013/08/know-your-upsc-member-and-ex-railway.html |archive-date=11 June 2018 }}</ref>
|width=1px bgcolor="{{party color|BJP}}" rowspan=8|
|rowspan=5|[[Ram Nath Kovind]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Arvind Saxena]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Indian Postal Service|IPoS]]
|20 June 2018 (''acting'')
| rowspan="2" |6 August 2020
| rowspan="2" |{{ayd|2018|06|20|2020|08|06}}
| rowspan="2" |Special Secretary for the [[Aviation Research Centre]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-10 |title=Arvind Saxena appointed acting chairman of UPSC: to take over from Vinay Mittal on 20 June |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/arvind-saxena-appointed-acting-chairman-of-upsc-to-take-over-from-vinay-mittal-on-20-june-4504593.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Firstpost |language=en-us}}</ref>
|-
|28 November 2018 (''permanent'')
|-
|P. K. Joshi
| rowspan="3" |[[Academician]]
|7 August 2020
|4 April 2022
|{{ayd|2020|08|07|2022|04|04}}
|Chairperson of the [[Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |Manoj Soni
|5 April 2022 (''acting'')
| rowspan="2" |31 July 2024
| rowspan="2" |{{ayd|2022|04|05|2024|07|31}}
| rowspan="2" |Vice-chancellor of [[Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University]]
|-
|16 May 2023 (''permanent'')
|rowspan=3|[[Droupadi Murmu]]
|-
|[[Preeti Sudan]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{Nbnd}}[[Andhra Pradesh|AP]]
|1 August 2024
|29 April 2025
|{{ayd|2024|08|01|2025|04|29}}
|Secretary to the [[Ministry of Health (India)|Ministry of Health]], Government of India
|-
|[[Ajay Kumar (civil servant)|Ajay Kumar]]
|[[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]{{Nbnd}}[[Kerala|KL]]
|15 May 2025
|Incumbent
|{{ayd|2025|05|15}}
|[[Defence Secretary (India)|Defence Secretary of India]]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Union Public Service Commission]]
[[Category:1926 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions]]