Centre Appoints Directors of Census Operations for Himachal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

The Centre has appointed Directors of Census Operations (DCO) and Directors of Citizen Registration (DCR) for four states and union territories—Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry—marking a key step ahead of the upcoming census activities, a government order said on Thursday.

As per the order, M Sundaresh Babu, a 2012-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, has been appointed as the DCO and DCR for both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Babu is known for his administrative acumen and has held several significant positions in the Karnataka government.

For Odisha, Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, also a 2012-batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre, has been appointed to the same role. Kalyan has previously served in important state-level roles and brings a deep understanding of regional governance to the post.

Meanwhile, Deep Shikha Sharma, a 2011-batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer from the AGMUT cadre, has been entrusted with the responsibility of DCO and DCR for Himachal Pradesh. Sharma has served in various forest and environmental departments and is expected to bring her administrative experience to support the massive census and citizen registration efforts in the hill state.

These appointments are crucial as the Centre gears up for the nationwide census and the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) process, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DCOs and DCRs will be responsible for overseeing the planning, coordination, and execution of the upcoming census operations and citizen registration drives in their respective regions.