Rashtrapati Bhawan announced on May 23 that President Ram Nath Kovind had accepted Anil Baijal’s resignation and appointed Vinai Kumar Saxena as Delhi’s next lieutenant governor. The appointment comes days after Delhi’s current LG, Anil Baijal, who has been the chief administrator of the national capital since December 2016, resigned citing “personal reasons”.

Rashtrapati Bhawan’s statement said that President Ram Nath Kovind was “pleased to appoint Vinai Kumar Saxena as LG of the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi with effect from the date he took office”. It said the president had accepted the resignation of current LG Anil Baijal, who resigned on May 18.

Baijal’s successor, Saxena, currently chairs the Khadi and Village Industries Council (KVIC). He was appointed head in October 2015. KVIC is under the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and is responsible for job creation in rural areas by implementing khadi and rural industry programmes.

Before her tenure at KVIC, Saxena, 64, was the founder and chairman of the National Civil Liberties Commission, which carried out extensive relief efforts in earthquake-affected areas of Gujarat. Saxena also serves as Dholera Port Project Director at JK Group.

Born on March 23, 1958, Saxena is an alumnus of Kanpur University and holds a pilot’s license. On March 5, 2021, he was appointed as a member of the National Committee to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Indian Independence.