Major IAS Reshuffle in Odisha: Hemant Sharma Gets Additional Charge of I\&PR Dept
Bhubaneswar: In a significant bureaucratic reshuffle, the Odisha government on Tuesday carried out a major overhaul of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre. According to a notification from the General Administration and Public Grievance (GA\&PG) Department, nearly 70 IAS officers have been transferred or given new roles across departments and districts.
1995-batch IAS officer Hemant Sharma, currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department and Chairman of IPICOL, has been given additional charge as Additional Chief Secretary, Information & Public Relations (I\&PR) Department. With this development, IAS officer Sanjay Kumar Singh’s additional charge of the I\&PR Department stands terminated.
In a major change in the Finance Department, 1997-batch officer Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Finance Department. He was earlier serving as Principal Secretary of the Odia Language, Literature & Culture Department, and also held additional charge of ST & SC Development. Mishra will also continue as Chairman of IDCO.
Significant reshuffling has also taken place in the Excise and Sports departments. Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, who was Principal Secretary of Sports & Youth Services Department, has been posted as Principal Secretary of the Excise Department. At the same time, N.B.S. Rajput, previously Principal Secretary to the Governor with additional charge of Public Enterprises Department, has been appointed as Principal Secretary of the Public Enterprises Department and will continue as CMD, OSRTC.
B. Parameswaran, earlier the RDC of Central Division, has been posted as Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department. Additionally, Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar will retain her position in the Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department while taking additional charge as RDC (Central Division), Cuttack.
A major reshuffle at the district level has affected several Collectors. Dibya Jyoti Parida has been posted as the new Collector of Puri, replacing Chanchal Rana, who has been appointed as Commissioner, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. Amrit Ruturaj moves from Kandhamal to take over as Collector of Khordha. Ashish Ishwar Patil shifts from Malkangiri to Dhenkanal, and Dr. Subhankar Mohapatra is posted as Collector of Sundargarh. Keerthi Vasan V takes charge in Ganjam, while Manoj Satyawan Mahajan becomes Collector of Koraput.
In other district changes, Kulkarni Ashutosh C is posted as Collector of Rayagada, Madhumita is appointed in Gajapati, Chavan Kunal Motiram in Jharsuguda, and Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak in Boudh. OAS officer Nruparaj Sahu is transferred to Sonepur as Collector, replacing Anya Das, who will now serve as Deputy Secretary in the Health & Family Welfare Department.
Among other major appointments, D. Prasanth Kumar Reddy, who was Director of Industries, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department, with additional charge as MD, IDCO. Bhupendra Singh Poonia will continue as Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Skill Development & Technical Education Department and retain his role as MD, IPICOL.
Dr. Maheswar Swain has been appointed as Collector of Nabarangpur, while Subrat Kumar Panda will serve as Director of Soil Conservation & Watershed Development in Bhubaneswar. Raghuram R. Iyer, who held multiple roles in the School & Mass Education Department, will now take over as Collector of Kendrapara. P. Anvesha Reddy has been appointed as the new Excise Commissioner of Odisha.
Sagarika Hota has been moved to the Finance Department as Additional Secretary, and Pratap Chandra Hota has been posted to the Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department. In the education and training sector, Dr. Yeddula Vijay becomes Director of Sports, while Chakravarti Singh Rathore takes over as Director of Technical Education & Training. Niyati Pattnaik is now Director of Higher Secondary Education.
Further municipal appointments include Rehan Khatri as Commissioner of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation and Kirandeep Kaur Sahota as Commissioner of Cuttack Municipal Corporation. Dheenah Dastageer has been appointed as Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Rourkela.
This sweeping reshuffle is considered one of the largest in recent years and is aimed at improving administrative efficiency, strengthening governance, and accelerating development initiatives. The state government is reportedly focused on aligning key personnel with strategic policy and development priorities, with further administrative movements expected in the near future.
