Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Wednesday appointed Nandini Chakravorty as the new Chief Secretary, while outgoing Chief Secretary Manoj Pant was named Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, retaining the rank of Chief Secretary.
Chakravarty, an IAS officer of the 1994 batch, will be the first woman Chief Secretary in the state.
Jagdish Prasad Meena will take over as the state’s new Home Secretary. An IIT Kanpur graduate, Meena will continue to serve as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms.
Chakraborty- a 1994-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, was serving as Principal Secretary, Home & Hill Affairs, with additional charge of Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs department.
She has handled several key assignments during her career, including stints as Principal Secretary to the Governor. Known for her experience in sensitive departments, Chakraborty had earlier made history by becoming only the second woman Home Secretary of the state in late 2023.
The reshuffle brings to a close the tenure of Manoj Pant as Chief Secretary. Regarded as a steady and consensus-driven administrator, Pant is credited with ensuring administrative continuity during politically and administratively sensitive periods. Pant had served a six-month extension as Chief Secretary and retired on superannuation on December 31, 2025.
Barun Kumar Ray, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources department, has been assigned the additional responsibility of the Tourism department. Atri Bhattacharya, ACS of the Sunderban Affairs department, has been given the additional charge of Director General, Netaji Subhas Administrative Training Institute.
Dushyant Nariala, another senior officer serving as Additional CS of the North Bengal Development department, has been given the additional charge of the Correctional Administration (CA) department. Hirdyesh Mohan, who was serving as ACS retired on December 31, 2025.
Surendra Gupta, a 1997-batch IAS officer holding the post of Principal Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, has been given the additional charge as Divisional Commissioner, Presidency Division.