Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumes charge as Election Commissioners

Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge as Election Commissioners in the Election Commission of India (ECI). A notification regarding appointment of the Election Commissioners was published in the Gazette on March 14, 2024.

Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumes charge as Election Commissioners

Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Appointed as new Election Commissioners

President Droupadi Murmu has appointed former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as the new Election Commissioners in the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The names of both the new election commissioners have been selected by the panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Recently, before the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned from his post in a surprising situation. Earlier in February, Election Commissioner Anoop Chandra Pandey had retired.

Gyanesh Kumar will replace Rajiv Kumar as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India in February 2025.

Gyanesh's tenure as Election Commissioner will be for five years till January 2029, when he turns 65. Sandhu's tenure will be for four and a half years till July 2028.

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Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu are officers from the 1988 batch of the Indian Administrative Service who belonged to the Kerala and Uttarakhand cadre respectively.

About Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar took charge as the Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India on March 15, 2024. Gyanesh is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Kerala cadre. He retired as secretary, ministry of cooperation, on January 31, 2024.

In the Government of India, he has rich experience of working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence; Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs; Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; And Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. He retired on January 31, 2024.

Gyanesh holds a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur and Business Finance from lCFAl, India and Environmental Economics from HllD, Harvard University, USA.

About Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Uttarakhand cadre.

Sandhu was appointed the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the Chief Minister in 2021 and had earlier served as the Chairman of NHAI.

He also served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu holds a MBBS from Government Medical College, Amritsar and also holds a master's degree in History from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Appointment & Tenure of Election Commissioners

The President of India appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office in like manner and on like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Static Current Affairs related to Election Commission of India (ECI) for upcoming exams

• Formation of Election Commission of India (ECI): 25 January 1950
• Headquarters of Election Commission of India (ECI): New Delhi
• Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC): Rajiv Kumar 
• Election Commissioners of India: Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu