Draft:Shailaja Chandra

Shailaja Dhumé Chandra is a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and a former Secretary in the Union Government in the Ministry of Health, and, former Chief Secretary, Delhi, the first woman to hold this position. At the state level, Shailaja Chandra was posted in Manipur, Goa and the Union Territories of Delhi and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Early life and education
Shailaja Chandra was born at Bombay (British India), now Mumbai, in the Indian State of Maharashtra. Her mother, Lilla Wagle Dhume too was a civil servant in the Government of India. Chandra pursued her B.A. (Honors) in English Literature from Miranda House, University of Delhi and completed her M.Sc. (Economics) from University of Wales, UK. She has been a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Nantes, France (2012) and has been a Senior Visiting Fellow at Shiv Nadar University.

Career
Shailaja Chandra was the Secretary of the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine & Homeopathy, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare from 1999 to 2002. Following that, she held the position of the Chief Secretary, Delhi, until 2004. On retirement she was appointed the Chairman of the Public Grievances Commission and Appellate Authority under the Delhi Right to Information Act. In 2006 she was appointed as the first Executive Director of the National Population Stabilization Fund, Government of India. She was a full time member of the Yamuna Monitoring Committee set up by the National Green Tribunal (2018- 2021). She has been there on the Boards of different companies in the Power, cement, Ayurveda, and hospital sectors. Her engagements span sectors like population, health, medical pluralism, governance, and gender.

Shailaja Chandra was involved in developing India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library and in establishing National Medicinal Plants Board. She has authored a report on the "Status of Indian Medicine and Folk Healing". Another report she wrote is titled "Unqualified Medical Practitioners in India: The Legal, Medical and Social Dimensions of Their Practice". Shailaja Chandra was the chairperson of the drafting committee of “The Report of the Review Committee on the Delhi school Education Act and Rules, 1973”. She took initiatives to address the power and pollution situations in Delhi during her tenure. She has also worked as Chairperson, CHETNA (an NGO) working in area of reproductive & child health and nutrition (2018 onward).

Shailaja Chandra writes OpEd articles for national newspapers such as The Times of India. , Indian Express, The Print , The Quint , Economic and Political Weekly and News-18