New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS): The government on Monday re-employed senior IAS officer Umesh Sinha as the Deputy Election Commissioner a day before his retirement.

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved the re-employment of Sinha, a 1986 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer, as Deputy Election Commissioner of India on contract basis for a period of one year with effect from January 1, 2020 i.e. up to December 31, 2020 or until further orders, whichever is earlier on usual terms and conditions, a Ministry of Personnel order said.

Sinha, who was working as the Secretary General in the Election Commission since July 2014, played a major role in SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) -- the flagship programme of the Election Commission of India -- for voter education, awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.

It is learnt that SVEEP was the brainchild of Sinha, who also worked as Chief Election Officer in Uttar Pradesh.