• Jaya Varma Sinha took charge as the chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of Railway Board (ministry of railways) in Rail Bhavan on September 1.

• She succeeds Anil Kumar Lahoti. 

• She is the first woman CEO and chairperson of the Railway Board, the apex decision-making body for the national transporter.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) had approved the appointment of Jaya Verma Sinha.

• Jaya Varma Sinha has worked as member (operations and business development), Railway Board. 

• Sinha was responsible for the overall transportation of freight and passenger services of Indian Railways.

• She was at the centrestage of the Railways’ media interactions recently when she explained the complex signalling system after the tragic Balasore accident which killed nearly 300 people.

• An alumnus of the Allahabad University, Sinha joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service in 1988 and worked in Northern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway. 

• She also worked as railway adviser in the High Commission of India, Dhaka, Bangladesh for four years. 

• The Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka was inaugurated during her tenure in Bangladesh. She also worked as the Divisional Railway Manager, Eastern Railway, Sealdah Division.  

• Her tenure will be till August 31, 2024.

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

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