Senior IAS officer Sujata Saunik on Sunday took over as Maharashtra's chief secretary, becoming the first woman in the state's 64-year-old history to occupy the top post.
Saunik, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, succeeds Nitin Kareer who retired as the chief secretary on Sunday.
She will have a year's tenure before retiring in June next year, an official said.
Kareer handed over the charge to Saunik at a ceremony held at Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai Sunday evening.
Before her elevation as the chief secretary, Saunik, whose husband Manoj Saunik is also a former state chief secretary, was the additional chief secretary in the state home department. -- PTI