With crimes against women becoming a grave concern in Odisha, the state finds itself at a crossroads. The situation demands not just policy corrections but a deeper shift in how the administration understands and responds to gender-based violence. This is the moment for Odisha to appoint its first woman Chief Secretary and IAS Anu Garg is the perfect candidate.
This move would carry significance far beyond symbolism. A competent, experienced and reform-minded woman bureaucrat at the top can bring a sharper focus to issues that have long been sidelined in mainstream governance. Evidence from across India shows that women leaders tend to prioritise safety, welfare, and last-mile service delivery. Odisha urgently needs that orientation.
A woman Chief Secretary can drive systemic reform across key departments: speeding up police modernisation, strengthening women’s help desks, improving investigation standards, and ensuring technology-backed monitoring of crime. Her leadership can integrate scattered efforts from various state departments including home, health, education, and panchayati raj, into a coordinated safety architecture.
Just as importantly, she can anchor the social side of the challenge. Campaigns against harrassment and rapes, domestic violence, trafficking, and child marriage need credibility and community trust; a woman leader at the helm lends both. Her presence would inspire more women to join the civil services and policing, widening the representational base the state badly needs.
Odisha has never shied away from progressive decisions. This one decision is completely in line with the motto of the Central Government – “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” and it would go a long way in cementing the public perception that the Government takes the grave issue seriously.
Giving the state its first woman Chief Secretary now would send a clear message: women’s safety is not just a statistic to be reviewed, rather it is a governance priority that requires leadership with empathy, authority, and resolve.
This is the right moment for Odisha to lead by example.
There are several other reasons why IAS Anu Garg is the right person for the top job in the state.
Ms. Anu Garg, IAS (Odisha Cadre, 1991), is a senior civil servant whose career has spanned district administration, public health, labour governance, water management and high-level planning roles in both the state government and the Centre.
A graduate of Lady Shri Ram College and a gold medallist in Psychology, she went on to pursue a Master’s in Sociology from Lucknow University before completing a public health programme at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health—an academic trajectory that later informed much of her administrative work.
Garg began her career with sub-divisional assignments in Jharsuguda and Kalahandi, followed by stints as Collector in Bargarh and Sambalpur. These early postings grounded her in the complexities of district governance, land management and field administration. She moved into the health sector soon after, taking on a series of responsibilities in the Health and Family Welfare Department, both in the state government and on deputation to the Union government. Her roles included Director, Deputy Secretary and later Joint Secretary, with responsibilities ranging from disease control to public health policy.
Between 2012 and 2017, she served on central deputation, including an important stint in the Prime Minister’s Office, and later as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles. Returning to Odisha, she held senior positions in Labour and ESI, followed by a sustained tenure in the Water Resources Department, where she served as Principal Secretary and subsequently Additional Chief Secretary.
In 2023, Garg assumed charge as Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary (Planning and Convergence), a role central to monitoring flagship programmes and coordinating inter-departmental planning. She has also held additional charge as Director General of the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration.
Across her postings, Garg’s career reflects a steady progression through critical sectors—health, labour, water management and planning—each contributing to her current standing as one of Odisha’s senior-most administrators. Her trajectory illustrates both administrative versatility and long-term engagement with public policy at the state and national levels.
