Odisha names Anu Garg as new Chief Secretary

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 (IANS) The Odisha government on Wednesday appointed Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department, Anu Garg, as the new Chief Secretary of the state, as per an official notification issued by the General Administration & Public Grievance (GA&PG) department on Wednesday.

The 1991 batch Odisha cadre IAS officer Garg will replace incumbent Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, who is set to retire from the services on December 31, 2025.

“Smt. Anu Garg, IAS (RR-1991), DC-cum-ACS and Secretary to Government, Planning and Convergence Department with additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Water Resources Department, is appointed as Chief Secretary, Odisha and Secretary to Government, General Administration and Public Grievance Department vice Shri Manoj Ahuja, IAS retiring on 31.12.2025(ΑΝ),” reads the GA&PG dept notification.

Garg, who is reported to be the first woman Chief Secretary of Odisha, is likely to assume the office on January 1, 2026. It is worth noting that she has also served as the Collector of Sambalpur and Bargarh districts and has held various positions across multiple departments in the state and union governments during her decades-long career.

Political experts said that Garg, as the woman Chief Secretary, is expected to place special focus on the empowerment of women in the state and ensure their safety amid rising cases of atrocities against women across Odisha.

Similarly, issues such as problems faced by farmers due to paddy procurement mess and the long-pending Mahanadi water dispute with neighbouring Chhattisgarh, etc will remain major challenges for Garg.

Garg was selected by the Odisha government for the top administrative position from among several senior IAS officers.

It is also argued that her wide-ranging experience across various departments of the state administration is understood to have weighed in her favour during the selection process.

The experts indicated that the decision reflected the government’s confidence in her administrative capabilities.

The incumbent Chief Secretary, Manoj Ahuja, who assumed office on July 1, 2024, had his service extended by one year through December 31, 2025.

–IANS

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However, the MeT department warned that the weather will change drastically from Wednesday night (Navami) and the city is likely to experience heavy rain on Thursday, that is Dashami, the last day of Durga Puja.

An official of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata’s Alipore said, “Yesterday, the sky remained clear with one or two spells of light rain recorded. Today and tomorrow, the sky will continue to remain clear, and there is no forecast of heavy rain. However, under the influence of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, the city might experience rain from Wednesday night. Heavy rain is likely on Thursday and Friday.”

At the same time, there is no possibility of heavy rain in most districts of South Bengal on Monday. However, scattered light to moderate rain has been predicted. Rain with thunderstorm and lightning may occur in four districts of South Bengal — South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Jhargram.

On the day of Ashtami (Tuesday), rain with thunderstorm and lightning may occur in East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts. Scattered light to moderate rain may occur in the remaining districts of South Bengal.

In the districts of North Bengal on Monday, rain with thunderstorm and lightning may occur in some areas of South Dinajpur and Malda districts. Rain is likely in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda districts on Tuesday. Heavy rain is likely to occur in almost all the northern districts after Dashami.

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ED raids locations linked to DMK MP Kathir Anand in TN’s Vellore

Chennai, Jan 3 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids at five locations linked to DMK leader and Member of Parliament Kathir Anand.

The raids, which commenced in the morning, are still ongoing. The ED officials have yet to release any statements to the media.

Kathir Anand is the son of S. Duraimurugan, a senior DMK leader and the second-in-command in the Stalin cabinet.

He represents the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament.

There have been allegations that the ED is targeting the DMK by conducting such raids.

Previously, the ED carried out searches at the premises of DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy and his son, Gautham Sigamani, in a money laundering case.

The DMK has referred to these operations as acts of “political vendetta”.

In 2019, then-President Ram Nath Kovind, acting on a recommendation from the Election Commission of India (ECI), rescinded the Lok Sabha election in Vellore due to the seizure of unaccounted cash from Kathir Anand and related locations.

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The election, initially scheduled for April 18, 2019, was cancelled on April 16, 2019, due to the cash recovery.

A re-election was held on August 5, 2019, where Kathir Anand, representing the DMK, won by a narrow margin of 8,141 votes, defeating A.C. Shanmugham of the AIADMK.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kathir Anand secured a more decisive victory, defeating A.C. Shanmugham, who had since joined the BJP, by a significant margin of 2,15,702 votes.

–IANS

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CERT-In building robust and trusted cyber defence architecture: Govt officials

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) With CERT-In’s research collaborations, public–private partnerships and participation in international forums, the national cyber security agency is building a robust and trusted cyber defence architecture aligned with the vision of ‘Digital India’, an official statement said on Saturday.

Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In and Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) at MeitY, underscored that CERT-In issues timely alerts and tailored advisories to organisations and citizens against emerging threats, ensuring proactive protection without causing unnecessary panic.

Speaking at a session for visiting journalists from Europe, America and Central Asian countries, Dr Bahl highlighted the role and responsibilities of the agency in cyber security, crisis management, vulnerability assessment, information sharing, and coordinated response to cyber incidents, empanelment of auditors, specialised training programmes in India.

Dr Bahl also underscored India’s rapid emergence as a global cybersecurity hub, driven by more than 400 startups and a skilled workforce of over 6.5 lakh professionals, powering a $20 billion cybersecurity industry.

At the session, he noted that these innovators are building advanced solutions for threat detection, cyber forensics, and AI-based monitoring systems, reinforcing India’s commitment to a secure and resilient digital ecosystem.

Dr Bahl observed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) acts as a double-edged sword — enabling both defenders and adversaries.

He elaborated on how CERT-In leverages AI-driven analytics and automation to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber incidents in real time, while also developing countermeasures against malicious AI-enabled attacks.

The visiting journalists were briefed on CERT-In’s continuous drills, capacity-building initiatives, and international collaborations.

Dr Bahl also stated that India reported 147 ransomware incidents in 2024, adding that CERT-In’s coordinated actions significantly mitigated their impact through real-time intelligence sharing and forensic interventions.

Krishan Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, MeitY, highlighted various initiative of the ministry, including the ‘India AI Impact Summit’, scheduled to be held in February 2026, policy support for startups developing indigenous cybersecurity solutions, cyber-security research and development, various national level initiatives and projects of the ministry.

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