Bhubaneswar: The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet on Friday extended the service period of Odisha Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja for 1 year from January 1, 2025.
He was due to superannuate on December 31.
The 1990-batch IAS officer is the first Chief Secretary of the BJP government in Odisha. Ahuja, who was on central deputation since 2017, was repatriated to the parent cadre, Odisha, on the request of the state government for the purpose. He was appointed to the top job on June 29, 2024, and took charge on July 1.
He succeeded Pradeep Kumar Jena, who was serving an extended term till June 30.
Prior to Jena, Suresh Chandra Mahapatra had got two successive extensions of six months each as Chief Secretary of Odisha till February 28, 2023.
A Haryana native, Ahuja is the first person from outside Odisha to serve as the top administrator of the state after a gap of nearly 39 years. The last non-odia chief secretary of Odisha was Gian Chand, who held the position from April 1983 to December 1985.
