Ms. Ritu Sain is a seasoned administrator currently leading the National Anti-Doping Agency in Government of India. In her two-decade long career in the Indian Administrative Service, she has held many challenging assignments and has been credited with several innovative solutions to complex problems being faced by marginalized communities. She is known for her work in areas affected by left wing extremism, where she played a key role in mobilizing women into 10,000 + robust community institutions (self-help groups) for social change.
Her earlier assignments as a young head of administration in the districts of Surguja and Korea saw her introduce several initiatives to enable even the most vulnerable to avail program benefits with ease. Her contributions in the field rural sanitation, healthcare, education, and livelihood are considered to have made lasting impact in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Her path breaking and now much admired and replicated waste management model in Ambikapur has relevance to small cities in other parts of the developing world. The centrality of women collectives in this model has led to gains in women empowerment over and above what has been achieved through better sanitation.
She has served in policy making roles in Government of India. During her tenures in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports she was instrumental in bringing out large scale change through inclusive public policies and stake holder participation.
She has been awarded the President’s Medal for Outstanding Zeal and High-Quality Service and Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for outstanding contribution in public service delivery.
Ms. Sain is a Draper Hills Summer Fellow (Stanford University) and a Chevening Gurukul Fellow (University of Oxford). She holds an M. Phil degree in Southeast Asian Studies and MA degree in Politics with specialization in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
As a Fulbright-Nehra Masters fellow, Ms. Sain is pursuing public policy at Columbia University to sharpen her skills in policy analysis and implementation. She believes this experience will offer her global exposure, help her connect with a network of professionals and learn rigor required in her policy making roles in the government. Upon returning to India, she plans to contribute to inclusive governance by empowering the vulnerable population through quality education and access to livelihood opportunities and healthcare.