Bhubaneswar, March 14: The Odisha government has appointed Rashmi Ranjan Swain, former Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, as the Chairman of the Odisha Uniformed Services Staff Selection Commission (OUSSSC). With this appointment, he becomes the first chairman of the newly constituted commission.

The state government had approved the proposal to set up the commission in November last year to streamline recruitment in various uniformed services. The commission will consist of one chairman and two members and will conduct recruitment for departments such as police, forest and excise.

Swain is a 1991-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre. He served as the Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir from October 31, 2023, to September 2024 before retiring from service.

Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Jammu and Srinagar between 2003 and 2004. He has also held key positions as SSP in Leh, Poonch and Ramban, and served in the vigilance wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police as Assistant Inspector General and later Deputy Inspector General between 2004 and 2006.

During his tenure in Jammu and Kashmir, Swain was also credited with the formation of the State Investigation Agency (SIA) on the lines of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to strengthen investigations related to terrorism and security-related cases in the Union Territory.