Usha Padhee (IAS) – Wiki, Age, Husband, Education, Batch, Cadre, Current Posting as ACS Odisha, GARIMA Scheme Role, Contact Number, Email & More [2026]

Usha Padhee is a 1996-batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer who is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Housing & Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha since 3 February 2026. She is best known as the bureaucrat behind Odisha’s flagship GARIMA scheme for safety and dignity of core sanitation workers – a model that was later praised by the Centre and converged with the national NAMASTE scheme as NAMASTE-GARIMA Drive.

Note: This is a state-level bureaucrat profile – low search demand nationally, tracked mainly by bureaucracy sites (The Secretariat, WikiIAS, StockLens, Elets eGov). But her relevance has grown in 2024-26 due to GARIMA’s national replication and Mission Zero for sanitation workers.

Usha Padhee Wiki / Quick Info

Particular	Details
Full Name	Usha Padhee
Service	Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Cadre / Batch	Odisha / 1996 (RR) – Direct Recruitment 1
Identity No.	01OR026801 2
Date of Birth	01 June 1969 3
Age (as of 2026)	56-57 years
Place of Domicile / Native	Karnataka – Hospet, Karnataka 4
Mother Tongue	Kannada, Languages Known: English, Kannada 2
Education	B.E. Civil Engineering – Gulbarga University, Karnataka; M.P.A. – Birmingham, U.K. (Master of Public Administration) 4 – Some Hindi portals also mention Utkal University
Current Posting	Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Housing & Urban Development Department, Odisha since 03-02-2026 3 – Also Vice Chairperson, SUDA & Chairperson, IDCO (additional charge Feb 2026) 5
Previous Posting	Principal Secretary to Govt, Housing & Urban Development Dept, Bhubaneswar since 21-08-2024 6
Pay Level	Level 15 in IAS Pay Matrix 4
Total Service	30 years (as of 2026) – 16 documented postings, 10 locations 6
Retirement	Expected 31 May 2029 (60 years)
Husband	Arvind Padhee – IAS, Odisha cadre 1996 batch, Joint Secretary Chemicals & Fertilisers Ministry (as of 2020), now serving in Odisha/central deputation 7
Twitter / X	@ushapadhee1996 – 139K followers, 4,199 posts – Bio: Bonitas ubique \| BE(Civil), MPA (UK), IAS \| Addl Chief Secy @HUDDeptOdisha & Chairperson @idco_odisha \| Believes in Gandhiji’s Talisman 8
Official Email	hudsec.or@od.gov.in 9 – Also usha.padhee@gov.in 4
Official Phone	0674-2536903 (Office), EPABX 2524 9 – Mobile listed in Odisha Govt Telephone Directory 2026: 9437038770 / 9437022776 (public directory) 10

Early Life & Education

Usha Padhee was born on 1 June 1969 in Karnataka (domicile Karnataka, Hospet) in a middle-class family that prioritized education and values. She did her schooling in Karnataka and pursued B.E. in Civil Engineering from Gulbarga University, Karnataka 11. Later she did M.P.A. from Birmingham, U.K. 4.

She is proficient in English and Kannada 3 and believes in Gandhiji’s Talisman as per her X bio 8.

UPSC & IAS Career Journey

UPSC: Direct Recruitment (RR) 1996 batch, Odisha cadre allotted.
Early Career: Sub Collector, Additional District Magistrate, District Collector & Magistrate – handled education, health, basic infrastructure projects in rural Odisha.
State Roles: Secretary, School & Mass Education, Govt of Odisha; Principal Secretary, Skill Development and Technical Education Dept; Special Secretary, Director, Commissioner & Secretary, Principal Secretary to Government in various depts.
Central Deputation (2015-2022): Deputed to central services as Joint Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation in July 2015 7.
Historic Posting: On August 2020, became first woman Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) replacing IPS officer Rakesh Asthana who went as DG BSF 7. As DG BCAS, she laid down Aviation Security Standards per Annex 17 to Chicago Convention of ICAO, monitored security rules for airport/airline operators, planned aviation security coordination. Central deputation tenure scheduled till 16 July 2022 7.
Return to Odisha (2022 onwards): Principal Secretary, Commerce & Transport Dept; closely associated with urban governance and infrastructure initiatives 12.
2024-2026: Principal Secretary to Govt, Housing & Urban Development Dept since 21-08-2024 6, elevated to Apex Grade as ACS in Feb 2026 along with Saswata Mishra and Vishal Kumar Dev 12 – promoted to ACS Grade on 31 Jan 2026 13.
Additional Charges Feb 2026: Chairperson, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) 5, Vice Chairperson, State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) 14.

Role in GARIMA Scheme – Why She Matters Now

GARIMA – Ensuring Safety and Dignity of Core Sanitation Workers – was launched 11 Sep 2020 by CM Naveen Patnaik, implemented by Housing & Urban Development Dept through 114 ULBs with initial corpus Rs 50 crore 15.

As Principal Secretary / ACS H&UD, Usha Padhee was the architect and implementing head:

What GARIMA does (she explains in interviews):

State-wide survey & identification via Swachh Sahara Odisha portal – dynamic database of 15,000+ informal workers
Only trained workers from Odisha Water Academy (WAT-CO) allowed for hazardous cleaning – 280 certified
Working hours cut from 8 to 6 hours, wages increased 49% Grade-1 & 33% Grade-2 + 15% Risk & Hardship Allowance
PPE & machines as per CPHEEO norms
Social security: Health insurance + periodic check-ups, disability support, illness allowance, housing grant 90%, 2-wheeler grant 90%, educational grants till PG, EPF, retirement benefits, family pension, ex-gratia for disability 15
Garima Griha – rest/wash/storage spaces – 33 built
Recognized as Best Practice by National Human Rights Commission and Special Recognition Award by India Sanitation Coalition (ISC)-FICCI

2026 – NAMASTE-GARIMA Convergence & Mission Zero:
On 17 Feb 2026, Odisha govt intensified efforts aligning NAMASTE (Central, MoSJE+MoHUA, implemented by NSKFDC) with GARIMA – enrolment drive across ULBs for both SSWs and waste pickers. Usha Padhee stated:

“Aligning NAMASTE with GARIMA reflects Govt’s sustained focus on ensuring dignity of labour, social protection, and long-term livelihood security for sanitation workers and waste pickers, who form backbone of urban cleanliness.” 16

On 23 Aug 2026 at National GARIMA Conclave 2026 inaugurated by CM Mohan Majhi, she stressed Mission Zero:

“We have made sure that mission zero, where anybody who is working in the sanitation sector has a very safe working environment. No death while working in the sanitation sector would be allowed. We have already established SOPs stating that all work involving safety hazards should be done through mechanisation only, and we have achieved almost 100%… We have tied up with various sanitation service-providing organisations… training workers, providing PPE kits, expanding mechanisation… under social security network, we will provide them housing, cover them under various insurance networks.” 17

Centre’s Secretary MoSJE Sudhansh Pant praised Odisha’s GARIMA + Mission Zero as commendable steps aligning with Centre’s NAMASTE 17.

Personal Life – Husband, Family

Husband: Arvind Padhee, IAS (Odisha cadre 1996 batch, same batch as Usha) – as of 2020 Joint Secretary Chemicals & Fertilisers Ministry 7. The couple is known as one of the few IAS couples in Odisha cadre same batch.
Family: Low public profile – keeps family away from media. No children info in public domain.
Interests: Urban governance, aviation security, sanitation worker dignity, Gandhian philosophy (Talisman).

Contact Details – Official (Public Domain)

Smt. Usha Padhee, IAS
Additional Chief Secretary to Government,
Housing & Urban Development Department, Govt of Odisha,
Secretariat, Bhubaneswar
Phone (Office): 0674-2536903, EPABX: 2524 9
Phone (Govt Directory 2026): 0674-2536857 / 2536903, Mobile: 9437038770 / 9437022776 10
Email: hudsec.or@od.gov.in 9 / usha.padhee@gov.in 4
X (Twitter): @ushapadhee1996 – 139K followers 8
Dept Website: https://urban.odisha.gov.in

Office Addresses for Correspondence:

H&UD Dept, 3rd Floor, Odisha Secretariat, Bhubaneswar – 751001
SUDA Office – as Vice Chairperson
IDCO Office – IDCO Tower, Janpath, Bhubaneswar (as Chairperson)

Note: Mobile numbers are from Odisha Govt Telephone Directory 2026 PDF (public document) 10. Use official email/phone for official queries only. For GARIMA/NAMASTE grievances, contact ULB or helplines 14420 (SSWs) and 14473 (Waste Pickers), not personal contact.

Why Low Search Demand but High Relevance?

Bureaucracy tracking: Only sites like The Secretariat, WikiIAS, StockLens, Elets eGov, Supremo ER Sheet track her posting [1][3][6][2].
State-level: ACS is state-level, not national like Cabinet Secretary – hence low national search.
But GARIMA makes her nationally relevant: Odisha’s GARIMA is now model for Centre’s NAMASTE and other states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh) replicating, influencing national policy on sanitation worker safety. Hence NGOs, ULBs, researchers search her name + GARIMA.
SEO Opportunity: Target long-tail: “Usha Padhee GARIMA scheme”, “Usha Padhee contact number”, “ACS Housing Urban Development Odisha email” – low competition, high intent from Odisha ULB officials, contractors, sanitation NGOs.

FAQs

Q. What is Usha Padhee’s age?
Born 01 June 1969, age 57 as of 2026 3.

Q. What is her current posting?
Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Dept, Odisha since 3 Feb 2026, also Chairperson IDCO [5][3].

Q. Who is her husband?
Arvind Padhee, IAS 1996 Odisha cadre, same batch [7].

Q. What is GARIMA scheme role?
As Principal Secretary H&UD, she implemented GARIMA – 20,000 core sanitation workers benefited, recognized as best practice, now converged with NAMASTE.

Q. What is her education?
B.E. Civil Engineering + M.P.A. Birmingham UK [4].

Sources: Secretariat bureautrack [3], WikiIAS personal details [1], Supremo ER Sheet [2], GA Odisha posting PDF [4], StockLens posting history [6], ET Govt first woman DG BCAS [7], X profile [8], Urban Odisha web directory contact [9], Odisha Govt Telephone Directory 2026 [10], Tathya IDCO charge [5], SUDA staff profile [14], Orissa Diary GARIMA launch [15], OMMCOM News NAMASTE-GARIMA drive [16], ANI National GARIMA Conclave 2026 Mission Zero [17].