Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed the new election commissioner. He will replace Ashok Lavasa, who resigned earlier this week. Mr. Kumar will take charge the day Mr. Lavasa leaves his office on August 31. Mr. Kumar's appointment comes at a time when the election commission is preparing to hold Bihar assembly polls amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Rajiv Kumar has over three decades of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors. He played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four. During his two-and-half-year stint as a financial services secretary, he took several policy decisions to promote responsive and responsible banking. Known for his bold moves, Mr. Kumar undertook a massive 3 lakh crore rupees recapitalization of banks during his tenure. He also played a key role in taking ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan of financial inclusion, aimed at boosting credit access and job creation, through flagship schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra loan scheme, among others. He is known to have initiated and implemented the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.