Ajay Kumar, born on October 2, 1962, is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1985 Kerala cadre. He holds a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. Throughout his career, he served in various capacities including Secretary, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary, Principal Secretary, Director, Managing Director, Deputy Secretary, Private Secretary, District Collector, General Manager, and Sub Collector. His most recent role was Secretary in the Defence Department, New Delhi, from August 23, 2019, to October 31, 2022. He received the Graduate School Fellowship and Silver Elephant Medallion.