Bhubaneswar: Senior IAS officer Nikunja Bihari Dhal has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi.
A 1993-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, Dhal is the incumbent Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, having been appointed to the position in March 2023.
Dhal has held several significant roles within the state government, including Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department and Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), prior to his appointment as Odisha CEO.
Under Dhal’s oversight, the state recently conducted peaceful simultaneous elections for the Assembly and Lok Sabha.
Earlier today, senior IAS officer Manoj Ahuja assumed charge as the Chief Secretary of Odisha on Sunday. Ahuja, a 1990-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, succeeded the outgoing Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.