Former health secretary Preeti Sudan appointed UPSC member

NEW DELHI: Former health secretary Preeti Sudan has been appointed as a member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a senior official said on Monday.

The UPSC conducts civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

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Sudan, a 1983 batch (retired) IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, will be administered the oath of office of the UPSC member on Tuesday, the official said. She superannuated as the health secretary in July 2020. Sudan also served in Women and Child Development and Defence Ministries.

In her cadre state Andhra Pradesh, she handled finance and planning, disaster management, tourism and agriculture. Amongst her notable contribution have been initiating two major flagship programmes of the country -- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Ayushman Bharat -- apart from legislation on National Medical Commission, Allied Health Professional Commission and ban on e-cigarettes, the official said.

Sudan was also consultant with the World Bank. The UPSC is headed by a chairperson and can have a maximum of 10 members. With her appointment, there is still a vacancy of four members in the Commission.