Jaya Varma Sinha: Indian Railway Board gets first-ever woman CEO and Chairperson

Jaya Varma Sinha on Friday took over the charge of the new Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Railway Board (Ministry of Railways) at Rail Bhavan.

Indian Railway Board gets first-ever woman CEO and Chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha. Photo Courtesy: PIB

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Jaya Varma Sinha as Chairperson & CEO of Railway Board.

She is the first woman to be appointed to this apex post of Indian Railways.

Prior to this, Varma Sinha worked as Member (Operations and Business Development), Railway Board.

She was responsible for the overall transportation of freight and passenger services on Indian Railways.

Jaya Varma Sinha joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988.

In a career spanning over 35 years in the Indian Railways, Varma Sinha has worked on various important posts like Member (Operations & Business Development) Railway Board, Additional Member, Traffic Transportation, Railway Board.

She has also worked on diverse verticals spanning operations, commercial, IT and vigilance.

Earlier, she was also the first woman to be appointed as the Principal Chief Operations Manager of South Eastern Railway.

Varma Sinha had worked as the Railway Advisor in the High Commission of India in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during which the famous Maitri Express from Kolkata to Dhaka was inaugurated.

She is an alumnus of Allahabad University, and has a keen interest in photography.