Gujarat-based educationist Manoj Soni appointed UPSC member

Gujarat-based educationist Manoj Soni was today appointed as a member in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), that conducts recruitment exams to select the country's top bureaucrats.
His appointment has been approved by President Pranab Mukherjee, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
Soni was the former vice-chancellor and an alumnus of the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda.
He will hold the office for a term of six years from the date on which he takes the charge or until he attains the age of 65 years.
Soni, 52, had been the vice-chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad and holds Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, according to his profile on the MSU website.

With his appointment, the strength of the UPSC has gone up to eight. The UPSC, headed by a chairman (Prof David R Syiemlieh at present), can have a maximum of 10 members.
The Commission conducts civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.