Overview
- A gubernatorial notification on December 31 appointed Nandini Chakravorty as Chief Secretary, succeeding Manoj Pant upon his retirement.
- Manoj Pant has been reassigned as Principal/Personal Secretary to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after completing a six-month extension.
- The Department of Personnel and Training did not clear the state’s request for a further extension for Pant, prompting the reshuffle.
- Jagdish Prasad Meena, a 2004-batch IAS officer, has been named Home Secretary, filling the role Chakravorty previously held.
- Reports say Chakravorty’s elevation superseded several senior IAS officers, with some accounts citing eight, and the move comes months before Assembly elections with a senior official suggesting it could strengthen the government’s hand with the Election Commission.