The Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission is the head of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a constitutional body. The chairperson is responsible for overseeing the conduct of exams, the transfer and promotion of higher officers and civil servants. The chairperson reports directly to the president of India.
Background
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 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.
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, 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 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.
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 + List of the chairpersons of the Union Public Service Commission since 1947ChairpersonsService orprofessionTenure startTenure endDuration of officePrevious postAppointed byH. K. KripalaniICS1 April 194713 January 1949Chief Secretary of Bombay ProvinceLouis MountbattenR. N. Banerjee14 January 19499 May 1955Home Secretary of IndiaC. RajagopalachariN. Govindarajan10 May 19559 December 1955—Rajendra PrasadV. S. Hejmadi10 December 19559 December 1961—B. N. Jha11 December 196122 February 1967Cabinet Secretary of IndiaK. R. Damle18 April 19672 March 1971Secretary to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Government of IndiaSarvapalli RadhakrishnanR. C. S. SarkarIASWB11 May 19711 February 1973Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of IndiaV. V. GiriA. R. KidwaiAcademician5 February 19734 February 1979Professor at Aligarh Muslim UniversityM. L. Shahare—16 February 197916 February 1985—Neelam Sanjiva ReddyH. K. L. KapoorIASGJ18 February 19855 March 1990Chief Secretary of the Government of GujaratZail SinghJ. P. GuptaIRSME5 March 19902 June 1992Chairperson of the Railway BoardRamaswamy VenkataramanR. M. Bathew (Kharbuli)IASML23 September 199223 August 1996Member of the Meghalaya Public Service CommissionShankar Dayal SharmaS. J. S. ChhatwalIFS23 August 199630 September 1996High Commissioner of India to CanadaJ. M. QureshiIPSMP30 September 199611 December 1998Director general of the Madhya Pradesh PoliceLt. Gen Surinder NathArmyRegiment of Artillery11 December 199825 June 2002Vice Chief of the Army StaffK. R. NarayananP. C. HotaIASOD25 June 20028 September 2003Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, Government of IndiaMata PrasadIASUP9 September 20034 January 2005Secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of IndiaA. P. J. Abdul KalamS. R. HashimAcademician4 January 20051 April 2006Ambassador of India to KazakhstanGurbachan JagatIPSAGMUT1 April 200630 June 2007Director General of Border Security ForceSubir DuttaIASWB30 June 200716 August 2008Defence Secretary of IndiaD. P. AgrawalAcademician16 August 200816 August 2014Director of Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, GwaliorPratibha PatilRajni RazdanIASHR16 August 201421 November 2014Secretary to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of IndiaPranab MukherjeeDeepak GuptaIASJH22 November 201420 September 2016Secretary to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of IndiaAlka SirohiIASMP21 September 20163 January 2017Secretary to the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of IndiaDavid R. SyiemliehAcademician4 January 201721 January 2018Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal PradeshVinay MittalIRTS22 January 201819 June 2018Chairperson of the Railway BoardRam Nath KovindArvind SaxenaIPoS20 June 2018 (acting)6 August 2020Special Secretary for the Aviation Research Centre28 November 2018 (permanent)P. K. JoshiAcademician7 August 20204 April 2022Chairperson of the Chhattisgarh Public Service CommissionManoj Soni5 April 2022 (acting)31 July 2024Vice-chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University16 May 2023 (permanent)Droupadi MurmuPreeti SudanIASAP1 August 202429 April 2025Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Government of IndiaAjay KumarIASKL15 May 2025IncumbentDefence Secretary of India
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