Jaipur, Jan 31 (IANS): Senior IAS officer Usha Sharma, who had been appointed Rajasthan's second woman Chief Secretary, took over charge on Monday evening.

Incumbent Niranjan Arya, who has retired, handed over the charge to Sharma, who was released from Central deputation on Sunday at the state goverment's request.

A 1985 batch IAS officer, she was posted in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Sharma, the second woman Chief Secretary after Kushal Singh who held the post in the previous Ashok Gehlot government, will have a tenure of about one and a half years as she is due to retire in June 2023 - six months before the next Assembly elections.

She has worked as a district Collector in Bundi and Ajmer, as well as Registrar of Co-operative Societies, JDA Commissioner, Member Secretary of the State Planning Board, CMD of SPINFED and Rajasthan Handloom Development Corporation, Industries Commissioner, Urban Development and Housing Secretary, Commissioner and Secretary, Industries and Tourism, Principal Secretary, Tourism, as well as key posts in the Central Government

Arya, meanwhile, has been appointed as an advisor to the Chief Minister.