New Delhi: Rajiv Kumar, former Finance Secretary has been appointed Election Commissioner, the Law Ministry said in notification on Friday night. He will take charge the day Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa leaves his office on August 31. The outgoing Election Commissioner is joining Asian Development Bank as its vice president.

Kumar is a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch from Jharkhand cadre. The Law Ministry in its notification said that “The President is pleased to appoint Shri Rajiv Kumar… as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office vice Shri Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner, who has resigned with effect from August 31, 2020”.

While Sunil Arora is the Chief Election Commissioner, the other Election Commissioner, apart from Ashok Lavasa, is Sushil Chandra. Former Finance Secretary Kumar has more than 30 years of experience in public policy and administration in several sectors. He holds B.Sc and LLB degrees, along with Master of Public Policy and Sustainability.

He was appointed Finance Secretary in July last year, and his stint ended in February 2020. He is known to have worked on key areas of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of financial inclusion, through flagship schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Mudra loan scheme, among others. After retiring as Finance Secretary, he was appointed Chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) in April 2020. The PESB does top-level recruitments in central public sector enterprises.