The Odisha government on Friday issued a significant notification posting several officers recently promoted from the Odisha Administrative Service to the Indian Administrative Service.
The General Administration and Public Grievance Department notification dated 18 September 2026 assigns the newly elevated IAS officers to important Joint Secretary and Special Secretary roles across key departments.
Surya Narayan Dash, who was serving as Special Secretary in the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department, has been appointed Joint Secretary in the same department. Soudamini Sethi, also previously Special Secretary in Panchayati Raj, has been given the same Joint Secretary posting.
Jyotirmayee Pradhan has been appointed Joint Secretary in the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, moving from her earlier Special Secretary role there. Madhumita Nayak has been posted as Joint Secretary in the Labour and ESI Department and will continue to hold additional charge as Director of the Employees’ State Insurance scheme in Bhubaneswar.
Other notable assignments include Anuj Kumar Das Pattanaik as Special Secretary in the Planning and Coordination Department, Jyotiranjan Mishra as Special Secretary in the Industries Department, Sanghamitra Satpathy as Secretary in the Rural Development Department, and Himanshu Sekhar Behera as Joint Secretary in the Home Department.
A few officers have been allowed to continue in their existing positions. Sumita Sarkar remains Additional Commissioner for Settlement and Consolidation in Cuttack, while Balamakunda Bhuyan continues as Director of Elementary Education.
The postings follow the Government of India notification issued on 3 September 2026, which promoted 14 experienced OAS officers to the IAS cadre against vacancies in the Odisha cadre. The state government has now given these officers their first assignments in the all-India service.
The changes place experienced administrators in departments handling rural development, drinking water, forests, labour welfare and industrial growth — sectors that remain central to Odisha’s governance priorities.
