Ashwini Bhide, 55, who took charge as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Municipal Commissioner on Tuesday, is the first woman IAS officer to hold the office since it was set up 160 years ago. With her appointment, the civic body is now governed by a majority of women in key positions of authority, with Ritu Tawde as mayor, and Kishori Pednekar as Leader of the Opposition. Moreover, three out of BMC’s four statutory bodies at the headquarters are now headed by women.

“Because the government did not get a chance to appoint a woman to this position before, this is probably being highlighted. But it is not a very different situation,” Bhide said. The 1995 batch IAS officer replaced Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who took the civil services examination in 1990. Gagrani retired from service on Tuesday.