Usha Padhee, an officer of the 1996 batch of the IAS cadre from Odisha, made history as she is the first woman officer to take charge of the office of Director-General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) replacing IPS officer Rakesh Asthana who served as DG between January 2019 and August 2020. Before, assuming the post as DG of BCAS, Usha Padhee served as the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. She is an alumnus of Gulbarga University, Karnataka where she studied Civil Engineering. As the Director-General, Usha Padhee will be overseeing the BCAS that performs functions such as laying down the Aviation Security Standards in accordance with Annex 17 to Chicago Convention of ICAO for airport operators, airlines operators and their security agencies. Further, the BCAS monitors the implementation of security rules and regulations and carrying out a survey of security needs. Moreover, it manages the planning and coordination of aviation security matters.