Sanjay Govind Dhande, former director of IIT Kanpur, has been appointed as a member of UGC for a term of three years.
His appointment comes close on the heels of the removal of activist Yogendra Yadav as a UGC member by the HRD Ministry.
Yadav was sacked on September 18 for being a member of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, with the Ministry saying his association with the apex body of higher education may give a scope for its "future politicisation".
Dhande's tenure as UGC member would be till September 24, 2016.
The other members of the commission include economist M M Ansari, chairman of Requirement and Assessment Centre DRDO D Narasimha Reddy, Director of International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Bio-technology V S Chauhan, Principal of HR College of Commerce and Economics Mumbai Indu Shahani, Seyed E Hasnain from Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, among others.
