Rajiv Kumar (IAS) Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Retired Civil Servant (IAS)
Famous for	Becoming the 25th Chief Election Commissioner
Civil Service
Service	Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Batch	1984
Cadre	Jharkhand
Major Designation(s)	• Director and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (2001-2007) • Establishment Officer & Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Personnel (2008-2011) • Establishment Officer in the Department of Personnel and Training (2015-2017) • Secretary of the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance (2017-2020)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	19 February 1960 (Friday)
Age (as of 2024)	64 Years
Birthplace	Uttar Pradesh, India
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Uttar Pradesh, India
School	He completed his schooling in Uttar Pradesh
College/University	• Delhi University • IGNOU • TERI School Of Advanced Studies • Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy Of Administration
Educational Qualification	• B.Sc.(Zoology) [1]Supremo • LLB [2]LinkedIn • PG Diploma in Management [3]Supremo • MA in Public Policy and Sustainability [4]LinkedIn
Hobbies	Trekking, listening to music
Controversy	Criminal Case Involving Kumar Led to the Suspension of a Special Judge: In 2023, Ch Raghavendra Raju, a resident of Mahbubnagar, Telangana, accused MLA V Srinivas Goud of altering his election affidavit with the help of election officials; Goud was elected in the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly elections from the Mahbubnagar constituency. Following the complaint, the case was transferred to the MP/MLA Special Court. On 31 July 2023, Special Judge Jaya Kumar directed the Mahabubnagar police to file a case against Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and other officials for allegedly enabling the changes to the affidavit after its submission; however, the Telangana High Court suspended Judge Jaya Kumar on 23 August 2023; the court stated that the judge passed the order without conducting a preliminary investigation or taking a statement from the complainant. [5]The Times of India [6]The Quint
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Not much information is available about his wife's name or profession
Children	Daughters- 2

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rajiv Kumar

• Rajiv Kumar is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer, who has been appointed as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner by the President of India. Rajiv Kumar has also served as an Election Commissioner. He is also well-known for making several economical policies, which have had a positive impact on the country.
  

  Rajiv Kumar’s appointment letter

• Rajiv Kumar since his childhood had been a bright student and was good in his studies as well.

• After completing his LLB from Delhi University, in 1982, Rajiv Kumar appeared for the UPSC examinations; clearing the exams successfully.

• After completing his administrative training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Rajiv, from 1986 to 1988, was posted as a Sub Divisional Officer (SDO), where he served in the Land Revenue Management and District Administration Department.

• From 1988 to 1989, Rajiv Kumar served as an Additional District Magistrate, where he looked after Land Revenue Management & District Administration, and in the same department, Rajiv was promoted to the rank of a Deputy Development Commissioner. He served as Deputy Development Commissioner from 1989 to 1990.

• From 1990 to 1993, Rajiv served as an Under Secretary under the Department of National Mission on Wasteland Development, in the Central Government’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

• From 1993 to 1996, as a Deputy Commissioner, Rajiv served in the Land Revenue Management and District Administration Department at Ranchi.

• From 1996 to 1997, after being promoted to the rank of Deputy Secretary, Rajiv Kumar served as the Managing Director of Industries.

• Rajiv was given another promotion and made a Director, after which he continued to serve from 1997 to 1999, as the Managing Director of Industries.

• From 1999 to 2000, Rajiv was posted at Ranchi, where he, as a Director, served as a Special Secretary in the Personnel and General Administration Department.

• In 2000, Rajiv Kumar served as a Director in the Ministry of Primary Education. From 2000 to 2001, he served as a Director in the Industries Department.

• From 2001 to 2005, Rajiv was posted to New Delhi, where he served as a Director in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. As a Director he served under the Department of SC/ST Welfare and Social Justice and Empowerment. From 2005 to 2006, he was made a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• From 2006 to 2008, as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Rajiv was sent on a foreign training mission.

• While serving in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Rajiv Kumar drafted the Scheduled Tribes (Reorganisation of Forests Rights) Bill, 2005 and Special Central Assistance to States and Grants under Article 275(1) of the Indian Constitution; which improved the flow of the funds, being issued by the Central as well as the State Governments, for the development of Scheduled Areas and TSP areas.

• From 2008 to 2009, Rajiv was posted at the Jharkhand Bhavan in New Delhi, where he served as an Additional Resident Commissioner and looked after the functioning of the Department of Personnel and General Administration. From 2009 to 2012, after getting promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary, Rajiv served as a Resident Commissioner at Jharkhand Bhavan, New Delhi.

• In 2011, a student of JNU was illegally detained by the police in Ranchi, for marrying outside her caste. This led to massive protests in JNU. Rajiv Kumar, back in 2011, was serving as a Resident Commissioner at Jharkhand Bhavan in Delhi. Upon receiving the news of illegal detainment, Rajiv, personally, called the Director-General of Jharkhand Police, Neyaz Ahmed, asking him to look into the issue, and immediately release the student of JNU. ^[7]Telegraph India

• The incident of a Resident Commissioner interacting directly with the students, took everyone by surprise, as it was a very rare occurrence when a Resident Commissioner talked directly with the students. ^[8]Telegraph India

• From 2012 to 2015, he served as a Joint Secretary with the Department of Expenditure, under the Ministry of Finance.

• Upon getting promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary in 2015; Rajiv served as an Establishment Officer and Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. In 2017, in the same department, Rajiv served as a Special Secretary.

• Rajiv Kumar, from 2017 to 2020, served as a Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, under the Ministry of Finance.
  

  Rajiv Kumar while serving as the Secretary of the Department of Finance Services

• While serving as a Finance Secretary, Rajiv Kumar brought several amendments to the Banking, Insurance and Pension Schemes. All of these changes were brought by him, with four main objectives of achieving Recognition, Recapitalization, Resolution and Reform.

• Rajiv Kumar, in 2019, introduced the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019. Under the act, banks were prohibited from forcing the poor bank account holders to deposit exorbitant amounts. He also amended the Banking Regulation Act, which strengthened the Regulatory Powers of RBI over Multi-State Cooperative Banks, in order to curb the illegal acts of the banks.
  

  Rajiv Kumar with Late Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

• While serving in the Finance Ministry, Rajiv Kumar implemented the mega Merger and Acquisition of Banks; to smoothen and streamline the flow of finances which benefited more than 18 Lakh pensioners.

• In 2020, before his retirement, Rajiv Kumar was made the Chairman of the Department of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
  

  Rajiv Kumar as Finance Secretary with Nirmala Sitharaman

• In 2021, Rajiv Kumar was appointed as the Election Commissioner of India. He is known to have made several tough stands as an Election Commissioner. He even objected to a plea filed by the Election Commission in the Madras High Court. The plea asked for prohibiting the media to cover EC’s poll panel’s oral observations. He also reprimanded the Election Commission for not enforcing the political parties to follow COVID-19 guidelines during election campaigns. In an interview, Rajiv said,
  

  The poll panel should be put up on murder charges probably, for failing to make all the campaigning, political parties to adhere and follow the Covid 19 norms during the Assembly polls in several states. The Election Commission needs to be absolved of all the doubts casted on it, so as to save the Indian democracy, lest everyone else start making insinuations and allegations in much more magnified, exponentially derogatory terms.”

  

  Rajiv Kumar as Election Commissioner

• Rajiv Kumar was a part of the NITI Aayog’s Task Force. He headed the NITI Aayog’s Transparent Personnel Management, which is responsible for increasing NITI Aayog’s capabilities.

• Throughout his career, Rajiv Kumar has been appointed to several important posts, such as Director of the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SBI, and NABARD.

• He has been a member of many prestigious councils and boards, like the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC), Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), Bank Board Bureau (BBB), Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC) and the Civil services Board.

• Rajiv Kumar has played a vital role in the making and implementation of flagship policies such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and the Mudra loan scheme.

• Rajiv Kumar enthusiastically follows his passion for trekking, He has, on foot, crossed several well-known mountain passes such as the Himalayas in Ladakh, Himachal, Uttrakhand, Sikkim, Tibet and also in Sahyadri, Western Ghats and Palghat.

• Rajiv Kumar, during his leisure time, listens to old Indian vocal classical and devotional music. He also likes to practice meditation.