Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS

About Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS

Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, is Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), Government of Karnataka, a post taken up in February 2026. The department handles the digital transformation of governance and the state's data centres, and houses the Karnataka AI Cell set up in 2026 to guide AI adoption across departments.

A 2000-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, Pandey graduated in mechanical engineering from IIT Roorkee and secured first rank in the Indian Engineering Services examination in 1999. Earlier postings include Managing Director of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (2023 to early 2026), Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare during the COVID-19 pandemic (2018 to 2021), Secretary for Food and Consumer Affairs, Chief Executive Officer of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, Managing Director of BESCOM and HESCOM, Commissioner for Employment and Training, and Deputy Commissioner of Gulbarga district. Pandey holds a patent for the swan-neck Group Operating System, which freed pedestrian space in Bengaluru.