Smt. Preeti Sudan, an IAS Officer of 1983 batch from Andhra Pradesh cadre, retired as Union Health Secretary in July, 2020. She has vast experience of nearly 37 years in almost all spheres of Government Administration. In her last stint as Union Health Secretary for three years, especially the last six months, she handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this, she was Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution.
Smt. Sudan also served in the Women & Child Development and Defence Ministries. While serving in the State Administration, she handled Finance & Planning, Disaster Management, Tourism and Agriculture. She is M. Phil in Economics & M.Sc. in Social Policy and Planning from LSE.
Smt. Sudan has made many notable contributions in various National Level programmes. The initiation of two major flagship programmes of the country i.e. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Ayushman Bharat apart from Legislation on National Medical Commission, Allied Health Professionals Commission & ban of E-cigarettes are some such important initiatives.
She was also Consultant with the World Bank. She served as Chair of COP-8 of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Vice Chair of Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Chair of Global Digital Health Partnership and as member of WHO’s Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
She joined as Member, Union Public Service Commission on 29.11.2022 and assumed the charge of Chairman, Union Public Service Commission on 01.08.2024. She retired from UPSC on 02.04.2025.