Bhubaneswar: Anu Garg assumed charge as Development Commissioner (DC) of Odisha, the second most important post in state bureaucracy, on Wednesday.
The 1991-batch IAS officer is the first woman to occupy this post.
Garg, replaced Pradeep Jena, who is the new Chief Secretary of the state, as Development Commissioner and will also be in charge of the Planning and Convergence Department. In addition, she will continue to be Additional Chief Secretary in the Water Resources Department.
The new Development Commissioner has wide experience in several sectors, including water resources, women and child development and several other departments.
A native of Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh, Garg did her MA in Sociology. She is an alumna of Lady Sriram College for Women, where she was awarded the University Gold Medal for Best Student in Psychology and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She started as sub-divisional magistrate of Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district and also served as collector of Bargarh and Sambalpur. She was founder Director of “Mission Shakti” and developed initial policies and guidelines for the women SHG movement in the state. She was also posted as Director, Social Welfare.
