Gyanesh Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar (born 27 January 1964) is a 1988-batch retired Indian Administrative Service officer belonging to the Kerala cadre superannuated as Co-operation Secretary of India on 31 January 2024. On 14 March 2024, he was appointed as Election Commissioner of India.

Early life and education
Kumar was born on 27 January 1964 in Agra district of the Indian state Uttar Pradesh. He completed his BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur and studied Business Finance at ICFAI, India and Environmental Economics at HIID, Harvard University, US.

Career
Gyanesh Kumar was the Co-operation Secretary and  Parliamentary Affairs Secretary at the Centre earlier and also served as the additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. During his tenure, the Cooperation Ministry saw enactment of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) (Amendment) Act, 2023, and formation of three new national cooperative bodies – Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL).

He played a crucial role in the timely launch of the CRCS-Sahara refund portal for submission of claims by genuine depositors of four Multi-State Cooperative Societies of Sahara Group.

Kumar served as Joint Secretary (Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defence from 2007 to 2012, during the UPA government.