The Centre on Friday appointed former bureaucrat Rajiv Kumar as the Election Commissioner in place of Ashok Lavasa. Kumar is a former finance secretary.

“The President is pleased to appoint Shri Rajiv Kumar... as the Election Commissioner with effect from the date he assumes the office vice Shri Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner, who has resigned with effect from August 31, 2020,” the law ministry said in the notification.

Kumar is a 1984 batch IAS officer from the Jharkhand cadre. Before joining the Ministry of Finance, he was the establishment officer in the Department of Personnel and Training.

Kumar has undertaken several reforms in the banking sector, and provided a record capital infusion in the public sector banks. Over Rs 3 lakh crore has been infused in the banking sector since 2015-’16 to tackle bad loans. He also played a vital role in the government’s flagship schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra loan scheme, the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.