Bhubaneswar: V K 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 a day after Pandian took voluntary retirement from government service.

“Shri V K 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.

He will also be in charge of the state government's new scheme – ‘Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha' (Our Odisha, New Odisha), an initiative formulated by Pandian.

The former IAS officer is also likely to join the ruling BJD, party sources said.

Pandian became a part of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in 2011, and since then, he had been Patnaik's private secretary.

After Patnaik became the chief minister for the fifth time in 2019, Pandian was given additional responsibility as '5T secretary' to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments. PTI