Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned almost five years before his tenure ends in 2029 citing personal reasons.
The timing of resignation has become significant keeping in view the recent controversy related to recruitment of IAS under physical disability quota including that of Puja Khedkar. UPSC has registered criminal case against her for forging documents.
However sources said that his resignation has nothing to do with recent controversy as he had resigned almost a month back.
Sources said that Soni wants to devote more time to Anupam Mission, a branch of Swaminarayan Sect in Gujarat. He became a nishkam karmayogi in the Mission after receiving dikshaor initiation in 2020.
Manoj Soni is close to PM Narendra Modi
Soni, who joined UPSC as a Member in 2017, was sworn-in as the Chairperson on May 16, 2023.
Prior to his appointment to the UPSC in June 2017, Mr. Soni had served three terms as Vice-Chancellor in two universities, in his home State Gujarat.
He is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had picked him as the Vice-Chancellor of Vadodara's famous MS University in 2005 when he was 40 years old, making him the youngest V-C in the country.
What is UPSC
The UPSC is a constitutional body as mandated under Article 315-323 Part XIV Chapter II of the Constitution of India. The Commission conducts several examinations on behalf of the Union government. It also conducts civil services examinations every year and recommends candidates for appointment to the IAS, Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Central Services – Group A and Group B.
The Commission is headed by a Chairperson and can have a maximum of 10 members. There are seven members besides the Chairperson, including Dinesh Dasa, former Chairman of Gujarat Public Service Commission; BB Swain, former Gujarat cadre IAS officer; Sheel Vardhan Singh, former IPS officer; Sanjay Verma, former diplomat; and Preeti Sudan, former Union Health Secretary.
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