Girish Chandra Murmu takes oath as first L-G of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir; IAS officer with reputation for industriousness considered close to PM

IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu was sworn-in as the first Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday following the bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Murmu, who will turn 60 in November, was administered the oath of office by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a function held at Raj Bhawan at the foothills of the Zaberwan range. [caption id=“attachment_7556701” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Girish Chandra Murmu. News18[/caption] Murmu is a 1985-batch Gujarat Cadre IAS officer and was appointed as Secretary, Department of Expenditure in March. Born on 21 November 1959, Murmu is from Odisha. He holds a graduate and postgraduate degree in political science. He also has an MBA degree from the UK. India Today reported that Murmu, who has a reputation for industriousness, was the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat. He is considered a close confidant of the prime minister and thus held key administrative positions in Gujarat, as per the report. Satya Pal Malik, the incumbent Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has been transferred to Goa. The appointment was made by President Ram Nath Kovind. Jammu and Kashmir will formally come into existence as a Union Territory on 31 October. The Parliament had passed a bill to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in August and adopted a resolution to repeal Article 370, which granted special status to the state. With inputs from agencies