Educationist Manoj Soni took oath as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday, May 16.

Soni was administered the oath of office and secrecy as chairman of UPSC by Smita Nagaraj, the senior most member of the Commission, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

As per a PTI report, he joined the Commission as a member on June 28, 2017 and has been performing the duties of the UPSC chairman since April 5, 2022.

Prior to his appointment in the UPSC, Soni also served three terms as Vice-Chancellor.

These include two consecutive terms from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2015 as VC of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU), Gujarat; and one term as VC of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda from April 2005 to April 2008, according to his official biodata.

Soni is a scholar of political science with specialisation in international relations studies and has taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016, except for the period when he served as Vice-Chancellor of the two universities.

About UPSC
The UPSC conducts civil services examinations to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

The Commission is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of 10 members. There are still vacancies for five members in the UPSC, as per a PTI report.