Praful Kumar Pattanaik, born on May 1, 1952, is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1980 Bihar cadre. He holds an M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and postgraduate and graduate degrees in Political Science. Throughout his career, he served in various capacities including District Collector and Magistrate, Divisional Commissioner, Deputy Secretary, Director, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary, and Private Secretary. His most recent role was Consultant in the Department of Planning and Programme Implementation from April 6 to April 30, 2012.