Former Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar Joins USISPF as Advisor

Former Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has joined the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) as an advisor to the board. Kumar brings over three decades of expertise and understanding of the crucial nexus between defence and critical and emerging technology.

Former Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has joined the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) Board of Advisors, the organization announced on November 15. Kumar, who served as India's Defence Secretary from August 2019 to October 2022, brings over three decades of experience and understanding of the crucial nexus between defence and critical and emerging technology to the role.

Strengthening US-India Partnership

Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of USISPF, welcomed Kumar's appointment, saying, "Dr. Kumar brings in over three decades of expertise and understanding of the crucial nexus between defence and critical and emerging technology. At a time when the US and India are strengthening their partnership in the fields of iCET and INDUS-X, Dr. Kumar's experience and perspective have played a pivotal part in boosting technology cooperation, strengthening the defence framework, and enhancing the defence and space ecosystem in the country."

Transforming Defence Industry

During his tenure as Defence Secretary, Kumar is credited with transforming the defence industry ecosystem under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat initiative, a concept of self-reliance introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also conceptualized and implemented the historic corporatization of the 200-year-old and 80,000-employee-strong Ordnance Factories Board and the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Programme, a start-up ecosystem that today powers new technologies in defence, space, drones, and AI.

Experience in IT Sector

Before joining the Ministry of Defence, Kumar served in different capacities in the Electronics and Information Technology (IT) sector, including holding key positions as additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India; director general, National Informatics Centre; principal secretary in Government of Kerala; and Managing Director of KELTRON.

Key Initiatives in Digital India

Kumar is also credited with being part of the team of leaders who implemented key initiatives of Digital India under Prime Minister Modi in 2014, including UPI, the world's largest digital payment system; Aadhaar, the world's largest biometric digital identity system; myGov; the Government-e Marketplace; and Jeevan Pramaan.

Excited to Enhance US-India Relationship

In a statement issued by USISPF, Kumar said, "It is a privilege to be invited to the Board of Advisors of the US-India Strategic Policy Forum at an extremely crucial time in the history of the relationship between the two nations. I am excited about the opportunity to work towards enhancing this relationship."

The addition of Ajay Kumar to the USISPF Board of Advisors brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the organization. His deep understanding of defence and critical and emerging technology, as well as his experience in the IT sector, will be invaluable as USISPF continues to strengthen the US-India partnership in these areas.