TNBI Bureau: Senior IAS officer Roopa Roshan Sahoo took charge as Commissioner cum-Secretary of Odisha Governor on Wednesday. She joined the new office at Odisha Rajbhawan in the presence of Hari Babu Kambhampati. She replaced NBS Rajput who was in additional charge of the post.

With this, if reports are true, Roopa Roshan Sahoo, a 2006-batch officer, became the first woman IAS officer to take charge as Secretary to the Odisha Governor. Prior to her new appointment, she was posted as Revenue Divisional Commissioner for the Southern Division, Berhampur.

Roopa Roshan Sahoo has done her Masters MPhil in Sociology from the JNU in New Delhi and joined the Indian Administrative Service in 2006.

Post her Training from August 29, 2006 to July 19, 2007, Sahoo got her first appointment as the

District Collector of Sundargarh till September 20, 2008, followed by Sub Collector of Koraput from September 20 to February 9, 2010.

Since then, she has successfully worked in departments of the State government but her efforts towards tribal welfare – whether SC/ST Department or Special Development Council (SDC) has been highly appreciated by all. She was also holding the additional charge of Commissioner-cum-Secretary of SC & ST and Minority & Backward Classes departments.