Bhubaneswar: Odia IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri (posthumously) by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of Republic Day.
Mohapatra, a 1986-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, died due to COVID-19 in June, 2021. He was working as the Secretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
He was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi in mid-April last year, and is the first serving secretary to the Government of India to have succumbed to the disease.
Expressing condolences on his demise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “I had worked with him extensively in Gujarat and at the Centre. He had a great understanding of administrative issues and was known for his innovative zeal.”
Prior to joining DPIIT, Dr Mohapatra had served as the chairman of the Airport Authority of India (AAI). He had earlier been deputed as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
A native of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Mohapatra had a masters in political science from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). In Gujarat, he held several roles, including that of the commissioner of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
