Quick Info→
Husband: Manoj Saunik
Age: 59 Years
Hometown: Haryana
Some Lesser Known Facts About Sujata Saunik
- Sujata Saunik’s father, C D Cheema, was an IAS officer who served as the Election Commissioner of Punjab after retiring.
- In 1989, she started her career as an assistant collector in Aurangabad. She later became the collector of Jalgaon and the municipal commissioner of Nashik in Maharashtra.
An old picture of Sujata Saunik
- Sujata Saunik was on deputation to the UN mission in Cambodia from June 1992 to July 1993 as a Civil Affairs Officer and Election Monitor. She assisted in voter registration and conducted the first democratic elections in Cambodia (Kampuchea).
- From April 1994 to April 1995, she served as a Chief Executive Officer at the District Council of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
- Sujata Saunik then served as a Collector and District Magistrate of the Jalgaon district from October 1996 to September 1998.
- In October 1998, she was appointed as Municipal Commissioner of Nashik. She served in the position till March 2000.
- Sujata Saunik was on deputation to the United Nations mission in Kosovo from 2000 to 2005.
- She worked as the Municipal Administrator of Prizren, the second-largest town in Kosovo. She led an international team to help in reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in this war-affected area of Yugoslavia.
- Sujata Saunik served as the Executive Director of the Central Social Welfare Board in the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Delhi from September 2006 to September 2008.
- From December 2009 to June 2013, she served as the Advisor and Joint Secretary at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi.
- During her period in the Plan and Policy division of NDMA, Sujata Saunik focussed on state and district disaster management plans, capacity building, and training key stakeholders.
- She has also supervised the training and international deployment of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
- Sujata Saunik has handled the NDRF’s participation in the United Nations International Search and Rescue Group (INSARAG) and Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) exercises in Agra and Tunis.
- From August 2017 to June 2018, she was a Takemi Fellow in Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Sujata Saunik served as a Research Affiliate at The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University from July 2018 to June 2019.
- She served as the Principal Secretary of Public Health from November 2013 to December 2016.
- During this period, Sujata Saunik initiated campaigns on women’s rights and motherhood through health networks and media. She launched a special campaign on child survival, growth, and development in Maharashtra.
- The first comprehensive policy on maternal and infant nutrition was led by the Public Health Department under her leadership.
Sujata Saunik during her period in the health sector
- Under Sujata Saunik’s leadership, the initiative “Kayapalat-Transforming Primary Health” reached remote areas.
- In October 2016, she was appointed as the Principal Secretary for Financial Reforms in the Department of Finance in Mumbai. She served in the position till October 2019.
- During this period, Sujata Saunik managed office administration, set agendas for high-level meetings with the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Authority, and worked with the Advisory Board.
- She served as an Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Skill and Entrepreneurship in the Government of Maharashtra from July 2019 to August 2020.
- In August 2020, Sujata Saunik was appointed as an Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of General Administration in Mumbai.
- In June 2023, she was designated as an Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Home Affairs in Mumbai.
- In April 2024, Sujata Saunik and her husband, Manoj Saunik, an IAS couple, were both candidates for the post of Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, marking a first in the history of state administration.
Sujata Saunik with her husband
- In July 2024, she was appointed as the first female Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, breaking a 64-year-old pattern.
Sujata Saunik after being appointed as the first woman chief secretary of Maharashtra in July 2024
- Sujata Saunik is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Punjabi.
