1991-Batch IAS Officer Anu Garg Appointed Odisha’s First Woman Chief Secretary

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday appointed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anu Garg as the new Chief Secretary of the State, making her the first woman to hold the top bureaucratic post in Odisha.

A 1991-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, Ms. Garg is currently serving as Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary and Secretary to the government in the planning and convergence department, with additional charge of the water resources department. She will succeed Manoj Ahuja, who is scheduled to retire on December 31, 2025.

The appointment was formalised through a notification issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance Department, which stated: “Anu Garg, IAS (RR-1991), DC-cum-ACS and Secretary to Government, Planning and Convergence Department with additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Water Resources Department, is appointed as Chief Secretary, Odisha and Secretary to Government, General Administration and Public Grievance Department, vice Shri Manoj Ahuja, IAS, retiring on 31.12.2025.”

Ms. Garg’s elevation had been anticipated, with sources indicating that she was the government’s preferred choice among at least four senior IAS officers. Her extensive administrative experience across key portfolios at both the State and Union levels reportedly made her the frontrunner.

She has served as Joint Secretary to the Prime Minister (2012–2015), Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Textiles (2015–2017), and Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, gaining wide exposure to governance, policy formulation, and programme implementation at the national level.

With a service tenure extending till March 2029, Ms. Garg is expected to have a long and consequential innings as Chief Secretary, providing continuity and administrative stability. Sources also point to her professional rapport with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi as a factor behind the government’s confidence in her leadership.

In Odisha, she has held several key positions and was the first woman Development Commissioner of the State. She is also the Founder Director of Mission Shakti, the flagship initiative aimed at empowering women’s self-help groups. Her work spans healthcare reforms, nutrition and child protection programmes, ease-of-doing-business initiatives, and industrial worker welfare.

Widely regarded for her policy acumen, administrative rigour, and leadership in the social sector, she is expected to play a pivotal role in steering Odisha’s governance and development agenda in the years ahead.