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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on June 30, 2024
Sujata Saunik becomes first woman Chief Secretary of Maharashtra
Over the last decade, Sujata Saunik has worked as Additional Chief Secretary of Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department and Principal Secretary of Public Health and Financial Reform at state level.
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. (Express Photo by Alok Deshpande)
Sujata Saunik, a 1987 batch IAS officer, became the first female Chief Secretary of Maharashtra on Sunday when she took over from retiring Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer. Incidentally, Kareer had taken the charge of this post from Saunik’s husband Manoj Saunik.
Earlier, Sujata Saunik worked as additional chief secretary in the Home Department and General Administration Department, Government of Maharashtra. She will be the 45th CS of Maharashtra since 1960, when the state came into being.
The outgoing Chief Secretary was given a three-month extension by the central government in March 2024 in the wake of the Lok Sabha polls that concluded on June 4 with the result announcement. Apart from Saunik, senior bureaucrats Rajesh Kumar and IS Chahal were also in the race to become the Chief Secretary.
However, her empanelment to the secretary rank, earlier last week, making her one of the senior-most bureaucrats in the country left the government with no option but to appoint her as the CS of the state.
Maharashtra’s top two posts, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) are now occupied by women. Senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in January 2024 took charge as Maharashtra DGP. She was also the first woman to occupy the said post.
Over the last decade, Saunik has worked as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department (SDEED) and Principal Secretary of Public Health and Financial Reform at state level.
She was part of an Oxford Policy Management study which looked at outlays to outcomes for two key Government departments — Women and Child and School education. At the Federal level, she has worked in Women and Child and Disaster Management departments and in two humanitarian missions of the UN in Cambodia and Kosovo.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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