Lt. Gen. Surinder Nath, PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Ex-Chairman, Union Public Service Commission, New Delhi, Ex-Vice Chief of Army Staff, Army Headquarters, Ex-Independent Director on the Board of Larsen and Toubro; Fellow of the Institute of Directors, New Delhi; Member of the Advisory Council, VGSOM, IIT, Kharagpur; M.Sc. in Defence Studies from Madras University; M.A. in International Relations from Allahabad University. Born on 26th June 1937, Joined National Defence Academy in 1953 and commissioned into Regiment of Artillery from Indian Military Academy in June 1957; Attended various professional courses including Survey and Target Acquisition Course, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, USA; Defence Services Staff College Course at Wellington, Nilgirs; Command and General Staff Course, Tehran, Iran; National Defence College, New Delhi. He took over as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), New Delhi on 11th December, 1998 an appointment equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary, the highest post in the Government of India. UPSC is a Constitutional Body entrusted with the task of recruitment to various senior level posts in the Central Government and Union Territories and other organized cadres, viz. IAS, IPS and IFS etc. by conducting various competitive examinations and also by direct interviews. Apart from being the premier Institution in the country for recruitment and selection to posts/appointments ranging upto the highest level in the Government of India, it is an expert body for the development of human resources. Visited France, UK and USA in July 2001 to study the system and procedures adopted by similar organizations in those countries. After successfully completing his tenure in UPSC, demitted that office on 25th June 2002. In December 2002, he was selected as Chairman of a Study Group constituted by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to review the system of performance appraisal, promotion, empanelment and placement procedures for All India Services i.e. IAS, IPS and IFOS and Group ‘A’ services of the Government of India. The recommendations of the Study Group were submitted to the Hon’ble Prime Minister in July 2003 and have been frequently highlighted in the Media as “Surinder Nath Committee Report”. Most of these recommendations have been accepted by the Government of India and are now under implementation. He was also a member of another Study Group constituted by the PMO in 2006 for designing and planning inservice training for IAS officers at junior, middle and senior level. The recommendations of the Study Group have been accepted and already implemented. He was an Independent Director on the Board of Larsen and Toubro Company Ltd from August 2004 to September 2007. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Directors, New Delhi, which is deeply involved in corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and enhancing effectiveness of the Board of Directors.