The Collector's Mother How an Underprivileged women inspired her son to become an IAS Officer

Bishnupada Sethi is an IAS officer of the 1995 batch. Currently, he is the principal secretary to the Odisha government. He has served in one of most backward regions of the country such as Kandhamal, Gajapati, Sonepur, Nuapada and Rayagada. His role in improving the lives of people in the region earned him much appreciation from the National Human Rights Commission.

Bishnupada is a recipient of distinguished alumnus awards from National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and National Institute of Industrial Engineering (now IIM), Mumbai. He was awarded the President of India Silver Medal for his contribution to Census 2011. Sethi’s performance as a special relief commissioner during the 2019 super cyclone Fani was recognized as an exemplary model throughout the world, including by the United Nations. He is also the recipient of the Bhima Bhoi Award for his contribution to popularizing Mahima philosophy.

He is a published author and writes articles for various publications. His books on poetry, namely Where Shall I go, My World of Words, Beyond Feelings and Beyond Here and Other Poems, have been received well and translated into multiple languages. Sarala Sahitya Sansad felicitated him for his contribution to mystic poetry.