Jaya Varma Sinha Takes Charge As CEO Of Indian Railways: Who Is She?

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

She is the first woman CEO and Chairperson of the Railway Board in the 166-year history of the Indian Railways.

Who is Jaya Varma?
An alumnus of Allahabad University, Jaya Varma Sinha has worked as a member (Operations and Business Development), Railway Board. She was responsible for the overall transportation of freight and passenger services on the national transporter.

Sinha joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988. In her career of over 35 years in Indian Railways, she has worked on various important posts like Member (Operations & Business Development) Railway Board, Additional Member, Traffic Transportation, Railway Board. She has worked on diverse verticals spanning operations, commercial, IT and vigilance.

She was also the first woman to be appointed as the Principal Chief Operations Manager of South Eastern Railway. She 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 was at the centre stage of the railways' media interactions recently when, as the Member (Operations and Business Development), she explained the complex signalling system after the tragic Balasore accident which killed nearly 300 people.

She has a keen interest in photography.

Sinha is slated to retire on October 1, but will be re-employed the same day till her tenure is over.