Senior IAS officer Vandita Sharma (1986 batch) on Tuesday took charge as Chief Secretary of Karnataka and got down to work by meeting officials and taking stock of programmes and projects of the State.
Ms. Sharma took over from P. Ravi Kumar, who retired on Tuesday. She will be in office till November 2023.
On Monday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other Ministers praised Mr. Ravi Kumar for his service and the measures he had implemented to handle COVID-19 situation in the State.
Ms. Sharma is the 39th Chief Secretary of the State and the fourth woman to occupy the coveted post. She is also honorary president of the Karnataka IAS Officers’ Association.
Now, apart from Ms. Sharma, two other women are occupying top posts in the State Secretariat — M.K. Vishalakshi is Secretary of the Legislative Assembly and K.R. Mahalakshmi is Secretary of the Legislative Council.
