USISPF welcomes Dr Ajay Kumar as an Advisor to the Board. Dr Kumar is a veteran bureaucrat who recently served as the Defence Secretary to the Government of India from 2019 to 2022. Dr Kumar holds the mantle of the longest-serving Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, where he also served as Secretary in the Department of Defence Production. As Defence Secretary of India, Dr Kumar was the key architect for several major transformations under Prime Minister Modi, including the restructuring of higher defense management in the country and the formation of the Chief of Defence Staff in the Indian Armed Forces. Dr Kumar was among the key decision-makers who successfully managed the tense stand-off on the Indo-China Line of Actual control after the Galwan incident of 2020. Dr Kumar brings over three decades of expertise and understanding of the crucial nexus between defense and critical and emerging technology. At a time when the U.S. 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 defense framework, and enhancing the defense and space ecosystem in the country.
