Bhubaneswar, July 15: The state government today effected a major rejig in the IAS cadre.

Senior IAS officer Vipin Saxsena was today appointed as the home secretary, replacing U.N. Behera, who has been promoted to the rank of chief secretary and posted as finance secretary. Saxena is posted as the resident commissioner in New Delhi.

G. Srinivas replaced steel and mines secretary Rajesh Kumar Verma. Verma was shifted to the agriculture department while C.J. Venugopal will head the rural development department. Venugopal remains in charge of the public enterprise department.

Suredra Kumar was posted as science and technology secretary, replacing D.N. Gupta and Hemanta Sharma as chairman-cum- managing director of the Grid Corporation of Odisha and the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation. Gupta was appointed as the consolidation commissioner.

The government appointed Salini Pandit as labour commissioner.