Odisha: Naveen Patnaik's aide gets cabinet minister rank, hours after taking voluntary retirement

VK Pandian, the former aide to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, has been appointed Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) with the rank of a cabinet minister, an official notification said on Tuesday. The development comes less than 24 hours after Pandian took voluntary retirement from government service. “Shri VK Pandian is hereby appointed as Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha in the rank of Cabinet Minister. Pandian shall work directly under the Chief Minister,” the General Administration and Public Grievance Department said. Pandian joined the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in 2011, and since then, he has been Patnaik’s private secretary. After Patnaik became the chief minister for the fifth time in 2019, Pandian was given additional responsibility of ‘5T secretary’ to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments.