Preeti Sudan
Preeti Sudan is a retired IAS officer and former Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission. Sudan joined the UPSC as a member in November 2022. Previously, she held the office of the Health Secretary of India from October 2017 to July 2020. Sudan has also served as a member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, an independent group overseeing the World Health Organization from 2020 till 2022.
Sudan earned a degree in Economics and Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has been trained in public finance management in Washington.
Career
A 1983 batch IAS officer of the Andhra cadre, Sudan was previously a Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution. Apart from this, she has served at various central and state level positions such as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defense as well as in position relating to disaster management and tourism. She has been a key functionary in the planning and implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a scheme of the Indian government's National Health Policy aiming to provide free health coverage at the secondary and tertiary level to India's bottom 40% poor and vulnerable population. She has also served as consultant in the World Bank.Since 2020, Sudan has been serving as a member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, an independent group examining how the World Health Organization and countries handled the COVID-19 pandemic, co-chaired by Helen Clark and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and served till 28 November 2022. Thereafter, she served as a member of Union Public Service Commission from 29 November 2022 onwards. Afterwards, on 1 August 2024, she was appointed Chairman of Union Public Service Commission and served there till 29 April 2025.