Gandhingar: Dr. Manoj Soni, a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and a scholar and academician based from Gujarat, has been appointed as the new chairman of UPSC. Here are eight things to know about Dr Manoj Soni, the first person from Gujarat to become the UPSC chairman.

1. Dr Manoj Soni had become the country’s youngest university vice-chancellor, of The MS University of Baroda, Vadodara in 2005.

2. He has served as vice chancellor of two universities, namely The MS University of Baroda from 2005 to 2008 and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU), Ahmedabad from August 2009 to July 2015.

3. Dr Manoj Soni has been associated with the Anoopam Mission of the Swaminarayan sect, at Mogri in Anand district. He has also received Diksha as a Nishkarma Karmayogi on 10th January 2020.

4. He sold incense sticks in Mumbai in his childhood after his father’s death to support his family and fund his education.

5. He lost his father when he was in class 5. His father used to sell semi-finished clothing at Bhuleshwar footpath market in Mumbai. He was also a member of the Anoopam mission in Mumbai.

6. Dr Manoj Soni is a scholar of political science and he taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar in Anand from 1991 to 2016, except the periods when he served as the VC of the two universities.

7. He completed his doctoral studies in 1995. His research was on “Post-Cold War International Systematic Transition and Indo-US Relations. He has authored a book ‘Understanding the Global Political Earthquake’.

8. His wife Prutha teaches at J&J college in Nadiad and his son Aarsh is in college.