Who is Rajiv Kumar? The ex-poll panel chief who oversaw India's largest elections and is now set to lead HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank's board has appointed former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar as its new part-time (non-executive) Chairman for a four-year term, months after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor Atanu Chakraborty.

He is best known for playing a key role in strengthening the country's public sector banks through major banking reforms and later serving as the poll panel chief, During this tenure as the CEC, he also oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha polls that witnessed record voter participation.

Lenders in India often appoint retired bureaucrats or central bankers as board chairmen, relying on their expertise in public administration, policymaking and regulation to handle the country’s complex institutional and policy landscape.

What is Rajiv Kumar's new role at HDFC?

The HDFC Bank has approved the appointment of Rajiv Kumar as an Independent Director of the bank for a period of four years, starting June 30, 2026. He will also take over as Part-time Chairman for three years, subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

His appointment as the Independent Director is “subject to the approval of Shareholders of the Bank”, the bank said in an exchange filing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

HDFC also disclosed that Kumar is not related to any other directors or key managerial personnel of the bank, news agency PTI reported.

Why did the former part-time chairman resigned?

HDFC Bank, which counts foreign institutional investors among its major shareholders, came under scrutiny in March after former bureaucrat Atanu Chakraborty stepped down as part-time chairman, citing “certain happenings and practices” at the lender that reportedly did not align “personal values and ethics," according to Bloomberg news.

The resignation unsettled investors, wiping billions of dollars from HDFC Bank’s market value. The stock has been underperforming compared to its key peers since then, the news agency reported.

The bank subsequently named Keki Mistry, a bank director and a veteran of India’s financial industry, as the interim chairman.

The lender also said at the time that it had well-established governance frameworks. Later in June, HDFC Bank conducted an independent legal review which found no evidence to substantiate Chakraborty’s allegations, citing inconsistencies in his statements.

What we know about Rajiv Kumar?

Before joining HDFC Bank, Kumar served as Secretary in the Department of Financial Services from 2017 to 2020), and later went on to become the 25th CEC of India before being replaced by current CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

During his tenure in the finance ministry, he played a role in strengthening India’s public sector banks, which were dealing with several challenges at the time, including stress in their balance sheets and governance issues.

“Through decisive policy direction and execution, Mr. Kumar led a comprehensive clean-up of public sector bank balance sheets by mandating transparent recognition and provisioning of NPAs and by enforcing accountability among borrowers under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code framework," a part of Kumar's profile on HDFC Bank's website read.

The bank also credited Rajiv Kumar with cleaning up bad loans, implementing the '4R strategy' of Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation, and Reforms, acting against illicit financial practices, and helping public sector banks return to sustained profitability.

"Fraud checks, specialised monitoring above ₹250 crore, and IT-based risk scoring on 34-plus factors replaced soft signals with loose controls, built into lending by large consortiums of often more than 25 banks. Opacity, suddenly, carried a cost. A total reset of the Creditor-Debtor relationship with a loud and clear message that money has to be lent prudentially and debtors must pay back," as per his profile on the lender's website.