BHUBANESWAR: Sitanshu Ranjan Kar, a 1983 batch officer of Indian Information Service, took over as principal spokesperson of Government of India and Director General of Press Information Bureau (PIB) in New Delhi on Wednesday. Kar succeeded Frank Noronha, who superannuated on April 30.
In a career spanning nearly 35 years, Kar has worked in key positions in various media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. After attending the foundation course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie and orientation course at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, Kar joined the news services division of All India Radio for a short period before moving to Doordarshan News. He joined PIB in 2003.
Kar has the distinction of being the longest serving spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence for over a decade at a stretch. In December 2015, he was appointed Director General of News Services Division of All India Radio. He brought about substantial improvement in the social media platforms of the national broadcaster.