India: Railway Board gets first-ever woman chairperson and CEO. Here's what we know about her

The Indian central government on Thursday (August 31) appointed Jaya Varma Sinha as the chairperson and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the country's railway board. According to an official statement, on Friday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Varma. The statement said she was the first woman to be appointed to this apex post of the railways.

The appointment will be effective from Friday (September 1). She will hold this esteemed position until her superannuation, with an additional re-employment period from October 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024.

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Who is Jaya Varma Sinha?

Sinha joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988 and has until now served as a Member, of the Operations and Business Development of the Railway Board. She has been responsible for the overall transportation of freight and passenger services on Indian Railways.

Sinha had served as an Additional Memberof the Traffic Transportation, Railway Board. She was also the first woman to be appointed as the Principal Chief Operations Manager of South Eastern Railway.

In a career spanning over 35 years in the railways, she worked on diverse verticals spanning operations, commercial, IT and vigilance.

This year, Sinha was at the centre explaining the complex signalling system after the tragic Balasore accident which killed nearly 300 people.

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