New Delhi: A scholar of political science with specialisation in international relations studies Manoj Soni on Tuesday took oath as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

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

The Commission is headed by a chairman and it can have a maximum of 10 members. There is still a vacancy of five members in the UPSC.

Soni, who joined the Commission as member on June 28, 2017, has been performing the duties of the UPSC chairman since April 5, 2022. The UPSC conducts civil services examinations to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

Soni has 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 bio data.

At the time of his joining the MSU of Baroda, Soni was the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor in India and the MSU, it said.

A scholar of political science with specialisation in international relations studies, he 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. /BI/