Retired Army officer Raj Shukla has been appointed as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a statement by the commission said.
The army veteran is a vocal supporter of Agnipath, the short-term recruitment scheme in the armed forces that was announced on June 14. On June 20, he said in a tweet, “Agnipath is a scheme of talent maximization and combat optimisation.”
Lt. Gen. (Retd) Shukla took oath as a member at the UPSC on Monday.
The UPSC recommends candidates to the government for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Central Services — Group A and Group B.
The statement said that Lt. Gen. Shukla, a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021, has a career spanning over four decades in the Indian Army. He commanded an Infantry Brigade in counter-insurgency operations, the Baramulla Division along the Line of Control in the Kashmir Valley, and a Pivot Corps along the western borders.
An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad; and the National Defence College, New Delhi, the retired Army officer has served two tenures at the Military Operations Directorate. He has also been Commandant of the Indian Army’s prestigious training establishment and think tank, the Army War College.
