India, Dec. 24 -- Anu Garg, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was on Wednesday appointed Odisha's chief secretary, the first woman to hold the state's top bureaucratic post.

Garg's appointment order was issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance (GA&PG) Department on Wednesday, days ahead of the retirement of incumbent chief secretary Manoj Ahuja on December 31.

Garg, 56, was serving as development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary and secretary of the planning and convergence department. She also held an additional charge of the water resources department.

Garg's elevation marks a watershed moment in the administrative history of Odisha, a state where the top bureaucratic position had, ...