Manoj Ahuja likely to be next Chief Secretary of Odisha

Bhubaneswar:  Speculations are rife that Manoj Ahuja, a senior IAS officer, would be the next Chief Secretary of Odisha.  He is likely to succeed Pradeep Kumar Jena, whose term is set to conclude at the end of June. Ahuja, a 1990-batch Odisha-cadre officer, isbcurrently serving as the Secretary at the union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

His repatriation to his parent cadre was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet upon the state government’s request.

Throughout his career, Ahuja has held various significant positions, including Joint Director (Personnel Training/Personnel & General Administration) at the Centre and Commissioner and Secretary for Steel & Mines and Sports & Youth Services in Odisha.

Notably, he also served as the Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education under the Ministry of Education.  Ahuja’s educational background includes a BE (Mechanical Engineering) from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, an MBA from Punjab University, Chandigarh, and a Masters in Public Administration (International Development) from Harvard University, USA