Shri Saurabh Vijay assumed charge as Chief Executive Officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday. He is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1998 batch belonging to the Maharashtra cadre. He is a civil engineer who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) and has held senior administrative positions in both state and central government. His appointment follows a career spanning technical and policy roles. Prior to joining UIDAI, he served as Principal Secretary (Expenditure) in the Finance Department of the Government of Maharashtra, a post he held immediately before the move to the central authority. His earlier assignments in the cadre included Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Commissioner of Maharashtra, Principal Secretary Tourism and Secretary, Medical Education, as well as Secretary, Higher and Technical Education. These postings involved oversight of planning, fiscal management and sectoral administration across the state. On central deputation he served in significant national and international roles, including as Director at the President’s Secretariat in New Delhi and as Advisor to the Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka at the World Bank in Washington D.C. Those assignments provided exposure to intergovernmental coordination and multilateral development processes and contributed to his experience in governance and finance. His record reflects a mix of administrative leadership and engagement with development institutions. He assumes leadership of the Unique Identification Authority of India with responsibility for implementing the authority’s digital identity mandate, sustaining operational integrity and guiding policy implementation. The role will require oversight of administrative functions and coordination with government stakeholders to support service delivery and regulatory obligations. His background in engineering, state administration and multilateral engagement is presented as relevant to the challenges of the post.