UPSC chairman Manoj Soni confirms resignation

His resignation comes at a time when the commission has booked a criminal case against probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar for faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts in the civil services examination. Though PTI quoted sources as saying that Soni’s resignation is “not in any way connected to controversies and allegations surrounding the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) after probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar issue came to the fore”.

Considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Soni took over as a member of the Commission on June 28, 2017 and took oath as chairperson on May 16, 2023.

Soni, who is deeply involved with the Anoopam Mission, a non profit organisation branched out from the Swaminarayan sect and was founded in Mogri, Anand district, is likely to be more active with the organisation that has centres abroad, especially The United States.

He has served as vice-chancellor of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Gujarat for two terms from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2015, and one term as VC of his alma mater The Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda from April 2005 to April 2008. At the time of joining the MSU, Soni was the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor in India at 40 years of age.

In 2009, he was a member of the governing body of Charotar University of Sciences and Technology Changa, and a founder coordinator of the Center for Excellence in Ethics in Politics and Public Administration, funded by the Gujarat government. In 2008, he was a member of Justice R. J. Shah (Red.) Fee Regulatory Committee, constituted by the Gujarat legislature for regulating fee structure of un-aided professional institutions in the state.

A student of Political Science with specialisation in International Relations Studies, Soni taught International Relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016. Dr. Soni’s doctoral research is on the “Post-Cold War International Systemic Transition and Indo-U.S. Relations” under his guide Prof Harbans Patel of SPU, completed in 1995. “This is one of the earliest and one-of-its-kind studies during 1992 and 1995. It attempted to explain the post-Cold War systemic transition through a conceptual framework that has potent predictive capabilities”, as per the UPSC website. The work was later published as a book, “Understanding the Global Political Earthquake”.

In 2013, Soni was conferred with the rare honour of “Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge” by the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A., “for his exemplary leadership in empowering disadvantaged sections of society with IT literacy”, as per UPSC.

In 2015, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, U.K., honoured Dr. Soni with the World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership. Dr. Soni has in the past served on the Boards of Governors of several institutions of higher education and public administration.