FORMER Civil Aviation Secretary, Dr Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi, has been 
appointed as an Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India. He fills the vacancy caused by the promotion of V. S. Sampath as Chief Election Commissioner. Sampath succeeded Dr S. Y. Quraishi.
Zaidi, a 1976 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, retired as Civil Aviation Secretary on July 31. He had earlier worked as Director General of Civil Aviation, represented India in the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and also served earlier as Commissioner of Bareilly Development Authority.
A Masters in Public Administration from Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Zaidi has been a Mason Fellow for Public Policy at Harvard Institute for International Development. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Finance from Indian Institute of Finance.