Odisha Govt Appoints New I&PR Director Months Away From Polls

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the twin polls in 2024, the Odisha government on Tuesday appointed IAS officer Saroj Kumar Samal as Information and Public Relations (I&PR) director.

He will replace Indramani Tripathy, who will now serve as Additional Secretary, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department while continuing as Director of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), a notification released by General Administration Department said.

The government also declared that the post of I&PR Director is equivalent in status and responsibility to the post of Joint Secretary in IAS cadre of the state.

Samal and Tripathy, both Odisha Administrative Officers, were promoted to the IAS cadre in 2022.