UPSC PANEL PROFILE FOR 2024 INTERVIEW

Date of
Designation Name & Date of Birth Date from which holding the Post
retirement

Dr. Manoj Soni

Chairman 16/05/2023 (FN) 15/05/2029
17/02/1965

Sh. Rajiv Nayan Choubey

Member 01/02/2019 (FN) 27/01/2024
28/01/1959

Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.)

Member 18/07/2022 (FN) 26/03/2027
27/03/1962

Mrs. Preeti Sudan

Member 29/11/2022 (FN) 29/04/2025
30/04/1960

Ms. Suman Sharma

Member 25/05/2023 (FN) 24/05/2029
30/07/1967

Sh. Bidyut Behari Swain

Member 01/06/2023 (FN) 04/09/2028
05/09/1963

Dr. Dinesh Dasa

Member 29/09/2023 (FN) 28/09/2029
29/03/1974
 W

https://t.me/Official_Captain_Invincible
 Dr. MA
ANOJ SONII

Dr. Manojj Soni is cu

urrently the Chairma
an of the U
Union Public Service Commission.
Prior to th
his assignm
ment, Dr. Soni
S served
d as a Mem
mber of th
he Union Public
P Servvice
Commissio on from 28
8 June, 20
017 to 15 May,
M 2023.

Dr. Soni sserved thrree terms as Vice-Chhancellor; two conssecutive teerms as Viice-
Chancellorr of Dr. Baabasaheb Ambedkar
A r Open Un niversity (B
BAOU) from 01 Augu ust ,
2009 throough 31 Ju uly, 2015, and one term
t as Vice-Chanc
V cellor of The
T Maharraja
Sayajirao Universityy of Barod da (The MSU
M of Barroda) fromm April, 20005 to Ap
pril,
2008. At the
t time off his joininng the MSU
U of Baroda, Dr. Soni was the youngest
y evver
Vice-Chan
V ncellor in In
ndia.

A scholar oof Politicall Science with

w specia alisation in
n Internatiional Relattions Studiies,
Dr. Soni has taugh ht Interna ational Rellations at Sardar Patel Univeersity (SPU),
Vallabh
V Viidyanagar between 19911 and 2016,
2 exceppt for the period whhen he servved
as Vice-Ch hancellor of
o the two o universitties. Dr. SSoni’s docttoral resea
arch is on tthe
“Post-Cold d War Inteernational Systemic Transition
T and Indo--U.S. Relattions”. Thiss is
one
o of thee earliest and
a one-of- f-its-kind studies
s durring 1992 and 1995. It attemptted
to
t explain the post-C Cold War systemic transition
t through a conceptua al framewoork
that
t has p potent preedictive cap pabilities. This work k was lateer publisheed as a boook
entitled aas “Undersstanding the Globa al Politica
al Earthqu uake” by the Ashg gate
Publishing g Limited, New Ham mpshire, an n internatioonally accllaimed pubblishing giant
based
b in th
he United Kingdom in i 1998.

Dr. Soni h has earnedd several awards

a andd recognitiions. Moree significa
antly in 20
013,
Dr. Soni was
w conferrred with th he rare hoonour of “HHonorary Mayor-Pre
M esident of tthe
City of Baaton Rougee” by the Mayor-Pre
M esident of Baton Rouge, Louissiana, U.S..A.,
for
f his exeemplary leeadership in i empoweering disad dvantaged section off society wwith
IT literacyy. In 2015, the Charteered Instittute of Ma
anagementt Accounta ants, London,
U.K., honoured Dr. Soni with h the Worrld Educattion Congress Globa al Award for
Distance Learning
L L
Leadership .

Dr. Soni h has in the past

p served
d on the Bo
oards of Goovernors of
o several in
nstitutionss of
higher
h eduucation annd public administrration. He was also a member of a qua asi-
judicial
j bo
ody constittuted by an
a Act of th
he Gujaratt Legislatuure, which regulates tthe
fee
f structu ure of the un-aided
u p
professiona
al intuition
ns in Gujarrat.
 Shri RAJIV NAYAN CHOUBEY
Mr. Rajiv Nayan Choubey was born on 28th January, 1959 in Patna, India. He is a post graduate in
Physics from the prestigious St. Stephens College, New Delhi. He also has a Masters Degree in
Social Policy & Planning from London School of Economics, United Kingdom.
He started his professional career by joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1981 and was
allotted to the Tamil Nadu Cadre. He served in Tamil Nadu from 1981 to 1998 in various capacities,
prominent among them being Collector of Kanyakumari and Madurai, Executive Director of
Industrial Development Corporation of Tamil Nadu and as Secretary, Finance Department.
He joined Government of India in 1998 as Director and was later promoted as Joint Secretary in
the Ministry of Finance where he worked for seven years. He also served as the Principal Advisor
in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as Development Commissioner (Handlooms) and as
Director General of Hydrocarbons under the Ministry of Petroleum. He was appointed as
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power and was later promoted as Special Secretary, Power.
Mr. Choubey was appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation on 5th June, 2015 and steered
the Ministry till his retirement on 31.01.2019. During his tenure in the Ministry of Civil Aviation he
was instrumental in drafting the New Civil Aviation Policy and also brought in reforms in the
aviation sector which led to enormous growth of the sector.
Immediately after his superannuation, he was appointed as full‐time Member of the Union Public
Service Commission, India with effect from 1st February, 2019.
He is married to Smita and has two sons.
 BIO-DATA OF LT. GEN. RAJ SHUKLA, PVSM, YSM, SM (RETD.)
MEMBER, UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

In a career spanning over four decades in the Indian Army, the officer has
seen extensive service in the field - he commanded, an Infantry Brigade in
Counter Insurgency Operations, the Baramulla Division along the Line of
Control in the Kashmir Valley and a Pivot Corps along the Western Borders.

An alumni of the Defence Services Staff College - Wellington, the College

of Defence Management - Secunderabad and the National Defence College -
New Delhi, the General Officer has served two tenures at the Military
Operations Directorate dealing with Doctrines / Force Structuring and was
the Director General, Perspective Planning, addressing issues relating to
Military Futures and Force Modernisation. He has also been Commandant of
the Indian Army’s prestigious training establishment and think tank - the
Army War College.

A professional aviator and powerful orator, General Shukla has an abiding

interest in strategic - military affairs. He has authored close to 70 articles /
publications and lectured / participated in more than 180 talks / seminars in
India and abroad.

As the 22nd General Officer Commanding-In-Chief – Army Commander –

of the Indian Army’s Training Command (ARTRAC), the officer made
noteworthy contributions to the development of India’s Strategic – Military
Futures, Technological Innovation, Professional Military Education,
Capacity Building, Operational Poise and Civil – Military Fusion.

In recognition of his service of the most exceptional order, the officer was
awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on Republic Day 2021.

The Honourable President was pleased to appoint Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla to the
office of ‘Member UPSC,’ w.e.f. 18th July, 2022.
 Smt. Preeti Sudan

Smt. Preeti Sudan, an IAS Officer of 1983 batch from Andhra Pradesh
cadre, retired as Union Health Secretary in July, 2020. She has vast
experience of nearly 37 years in the almost all spheres of Government
Administration. In her last stint as Union Health Secretary for three years,
especially the last six months, she handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to
this, she was Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution.

Smt. Sudan also served in Women & Child Development and Defence
Ministries. While serving in the State Administration, she handled Finance
& Planning, Disaster Management, Tourism and Agriculture. She is M. Phil
in Economics & M.Sc. in Social Policy and Planning from LSE.

Smt. Sudan has made many notable contributions in various National

Level programmes. The initiation of two major flagship programmes of the
country i.e. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Ayushman Bharat apart from
Legislation on National Medical Commission, Allied Health Professionals
Commission & ban of E-cigarettes are some such important initiatives.

She was also Consultant with World Bank. She served as Chair of
COP-8 of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Vice Chair of
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Chair of Global Digital
Health Partnership and as member of WHO’s Independent Panel for
Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

She joined as Member, Union Public Service Commission on

29.11.2022.
 Ms. Suman Sharma

Born on the 30th of July, 1967 Ms. Suman Sharma is a Post Graduate
(Bronze Medalist) in Organic Chemistry from Meerut University, Uttar Pradesh
and has M.B.A. degree from University of Hull, United Kingdom.

Ms. Sharma has also attended Course on Budget Forecasting in Duke

University, North Carolina, USA and Management Courses in MDI, Gurugram,
IIM, Bangalore and IBFD, Amsterdam, Netherland.

As an Officer of Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), 1990 Batch, Ms.

Suman Sharma, in her illustrious career of more than 30 years, has held several
important positions within Income Tax Department and also Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT). She has been closely involved with the subject matters of
International Taxation and Transfer Pricing. Outside her cadre, in Ministry of
Commerce, she held the post of Additional Director General of Foreign Trade,
New Delhi, where she dealt with export promotion schemes for all the exporters
based in northern India. She was also instrumental in formulation of New Foreign
Trade Policy.

She also held position as Managing Director, Solar Energy Corporation of

India, a CPSE under Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. During her stint as
Managing Director, SECI, the company witnessed significant growth and also
achieved the ‘Mini Ratna’ status. Ms. Sharma was also Member of various
Committees dealing with policy reforms in power sector.

Ms. Sharma was also Member of Board of Governors at Indian Institute of

Management, Tiruchirappalli.

She has joined as full-time Member, Union Public Service Commission on

25.05.2023.
 Shri Bidyut Behari Swain

Shri Bidyut B. Swain joined the Indian Administrative Service in

1988 in the Gujarat Cadre.

Between the year 1989 & 2018, Shri Swain served the Government of
Gujarat in various posts, in the Districts and at the State Level. CEO, Gujarat
Infrastructure Development Board, Secretary, Primary Education, Industries
Commissioner, VC & MD, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation and
Chief Electoral Officer, Gujarat State were among his important postings.

He joined the Government of India in 2018 as Additional Secretary in

Department of Commerce in charge of Special Economic Zones, Trade
negotiations of India with CIS Countries, Export Insurance and also held
various positions such as Chairperson of Kimberley Protocol and
Commissioner General of India, World Expo- Dubai.

On promotion as Special Secretary in Department of Commerce in

2020, he dealt with Trade Policy Division, CIS & OCEANIA Divisions,
with additional charge of Director General of Trade Remedies.

In January, 2021, he was posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Micro,

Small and Medium Enterprises, where he served till May, 2023.

He has a MA degree in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru

University, New Delhi and a Masters in Public Policy & Management from
The Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands.

He is a collector of Autographed Books and Contemporary Indian Art.

 Dr. Dinesh Dasa
Dr. Dinesh Dasa, a Member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), holds a M.Sc. in Agro- Agro
forestry from the Gujarat Agricultural University, Navsari
Navsari.. He earned his Ph.D. in Forest Laws and
Sustainable Development from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. His profound
understanding of forestry and sustainable development is evident through his research articles published in
esteemed national
ational and international journals.

Before joining the UPSC, Dr. Dasa served as a Member of the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC)
for ten months followed by a significant tenure as the Chairman of the Gujarat Public Service Commission
(GPSC) from February 1, 2016 to January 31, 2022. At the age of 41, he was the youngest-ever
youngest Chairman
of a State Public Service Commission in India. During his chairmanship, he introduced pioneering
administrative and technological reforms, leaving a lasting impact on the operations of the Commission.

During his association with the GPSC, Dr. Dasa also served as a Member of the Standing Committee of All
India Public Service Commission’s during 2016 – 2022 and chaired the committee during 2020-22.
2020 During
the tenure, he had an opportunity to head various committees including a noteworthy committee to bring
uniformity in syllabus and exam pattern in conducting Civil Service Examinations across
acr the states while
retaining regional diversities. The report submitted by Dr. Dasa Committee was principally acceptaned in
the 20th National Conference of the Chairpersons of all the PSCs of India organized in Goa in 2018. It was
left to respective states
tes to implement it.

Dr. Dasa’s professional career commenced as an officer in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
His illustrious career exemplifies a balance of administrative and academic abilities as it also includes his
services as a memberr of various academic/research bodies and institutions.. During 2005-2012,
2005 he served as
a member of the Academic Council, Board of Studies, and a member of the Syndicate yndicate of Veer Narmad
South Gujarat University (VNSGU), Surat. He has also served on Board of Management, Gujarat Ayurveda
University, Jamnagar, representative of the State Government in the Selection and Appointment Committee
of Kaushalya – the Skill University, ity, Ahmedabad. He was Convener of the Committee for Strategic
Implementation of National Education
ducation Policy – 2020 at Indian Institute of Teacher Education (IITE) as
well as a Member of Children University Planning and Development Committee, Gandhinagar.

Dr. Dasa was Director of Gujarat Tourism from 2011 to his appointment in GPSC in 2015.

Postt successful completion of his tenure as the chairman of GPSC, Dr. Dasa also served as a Chairman and
a Member of the Search Committee to appoint ViceVice-chancellors
chancellors in various state universities.

Furthermore, Dr. Dasa's expertise is highly regarded, leading to invitations as a regular speaker on "Policy
Interventions to Strengthen Governance" at Capacity Building Programmes organized by the National
Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mussoorie where he has shared his valuable insights with the civil
servants from various countries and Indian states.