The State Government has assigned the charge of Secretary, Information and Public Relations (I&PR) to 1995-batch IAS officer Hemant Sharma as incumbent Secretary Surendra Kumar was appointed as Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha.
Sharma, who is now Energy Secretary and CMD of both Gridco and OPTCL, would handle Information and Public Relations as additional charge.
Sharma is known for his suave and go-getter approach.
Kumar, a 1993-batch IAS officer, replaced 1989-batch IAS officer DN Gupta and took charge of CEO, Odisha on Friday.
Besides, 1997-batch IFS Officer R Raghu Prasad has been assigned as in-charge Secretary of ST, SC and OBC Development Department which Kumar had also hold.