BHUBANESWAR: Odisha on Sunday remembered distinguished scholar and former chief secretary Subas Pani, ahead of his first death anniversary.
Widely remembered for promoting technology-driven governance, Pani championed transparency, efficiency and citizen-centric administration throughout his public service.
Pani belonged to 1972 batch of the Indian Administrative Services, had secured the All India Rank 3 and was also the only person to be allotted the Odisha cadre in the entire batch. As the chief secretary of Odisha, he drove a series of landmark developmental initiatives that accelerated the transformation of Bhubaneswar and the state.
As the deputy election commissioner of India, he played a pivotal role in the computerisation of country’s electoral system, spearheading the computerised Electoral Photo Identity Card programme and helping lay the groundwork for the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)-reforms that fundamentally transformed the world’s largest democracy.
Pani laid the foundation of Odisha’s IT industry and digital ecosystem. Apart from being a bureaucrat, Pani was also remembered as a respected scholar of Jagannath consciousness, who devoted himself to understanding and celebrating the timeless philosophy of Lord Jagannath.