Preeti Sudan, who has been a UPSC member since November 29, 2022, will hold the chairperson position until her retirement in April 2025.
Preeti Sudan has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), effective August 1, 2024. Her appointment, authorized under Article 316A of the Indian Constitution, follows the resignation of the previous chairperson, Manoj Soni.
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Sudan, who has been a UPSC member since November 29, 2022, will hold the chairperson position until her retirement in April 2025, when she turns 65. The announcement came via a formal letter from Additional Secretary Manoj Kumar Dwivedi to UPSC Secretary Shashi Ranjan Kumar, with the approval of President Droupadi Murmu.
“The Hon’ble President has approved the appointment of Smt. Preeti Sudan, Member, UPSC, under clause (1) of Article 316 of the Constitution to perform the duties of Chairman, UPSC with effect from August 1, 2024, until further orders or until April 29, 2025, whichever is earlier,” the appointment order stated.
Manoj Soni, who resigned recently, had been part of the UPSC since 2017, initially as a Member and later as Chairperson starting May 16, 2023. His resignation, effective earlier this month, came nearly five years before his term was to end in 2029, and was attributed to “personal reasons.”
Preeti Sudan brings nearly 37 years of government administrative experience to her new role. She served as Union Health Secretary from 2017 to July 2020, playing a crucial role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic during her last six months in office.
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Her career has also included significant roles within the ministries of Defense and Women and Child Development, as well as various positions in her home state of Andhra Pradesh, covering finance, planning, disaster management, tourism, and agriculture.
Additionally, Preeti Sudan has international experience, having worked as a consultant for the World Bank, further enhancing her qualifications as she steps into the leadership of the UPSC.