The Centre has approved the inter-cadre deputation of Deputy Election Commissioner Mr. Manoj Kumar Sahoo, allowing him to serve in his home state of Odisha. Mr. Sahoo, a 2006-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, will be transferred to the Odisha cadre for a period of three years.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet gave its approval for the curtailment of Mr. Sahoo’s central deputation tenure. The committee also waived the mandatory cooling-off period, facilitating the inter-cadre transfer.
Mr. Sahoo hails from Singapur village in the Balikuda block of Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha. He completed his BSc at the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar.
Appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner in November 2022, Mr. Sahoo made history as the first Odia officer to hold the prestigious position. Prior to this, he served as the private secretary to Mr. Jual Oram, the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, from 2016 to 2019, during Mr. Narendra Modi’s first term as Prime Minister. Mr. Sahoo also held several important roles in the Ministry of Jal Shakti. His earlier administrative experience includes serving as District Commissioner in West Siang and Kurung Kumey districts in Arunachal Pradesh, and as the District Magistrate of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman, along with serving as Additional District Magistrate in Diu.
With this new assignment, Mr. Sahoo is expected to take on a significant role within the Odisha administration.
