National Disaster Management Authority      
Govt. of India

Smt. P. Jyoti Rao was born in Sept 1945 in district Almora, Uttaranchal. After obtaining Master’s degree from Agra University she taught at the graduate and post-graduate levels for a period of two years.

Smt.Rao joined the IAS in 1970 and was allotted the UP. Cadre. She held a number of important positions in the state which gave her exposure on myriad issues pertaining to governance. She worked as District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate and Sub Divisional Magistrate in the early part of her career which gave her insights and experience of issues at district, block and village levels. In the Secretariat at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, she worked at various levels in a number of departments, many of which gave her valuable exposure pertinent to her present assignment. When the state of Uttaranchal was created in Nov 2000, she was allotted to the Uttaranchal Cadre where she was actively involved in the setting up of the newly created state.

Smt. Rao also had a long innings in the Govt. of India. In the earlier part of her career, she worked in the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperation and dealt with medium & short term Co-operative Credit. The largest segment of her exposure was to Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation where she worked at different times at various levels for a period spanning nearly a decade and was engaged in actively designing, implementing and monitoring poverty alleviation programmes. While she was working in the Ministry of Rural Development she was selected as a visiting fellow under the prestigious Fulbright Program and was placed at the University of Cornell Ithaca New York in the department of International Agriculture and Rural Development.

Smt. Rao also worked as member Inland Waterways Authority under the Ministry of Surface Transport.

As Additional Secretary, Smt. Rao worked as Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperation in the Departments of Agriculture & Cooperation and Animal Husbandry. Subsequently she worked as Additional Secretary (Health) in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare handling almost the entire gamut of health issues. Inter-alia she dealt with matters pertaining to emergency medical relief and was in charge of putting in place effective measures for preventing outbreak of SARS. Her final posting was as Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs where inter-alia she was responsible for drafting the historic Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005. At the time of tsunami disaster she was actively involved in ensuring the safety of and relief to tribal communities in Andaman & Nicobar.

During the course of her career Smt. Rao has attended a number of prestigious training programmes and conferences both in India and abroad. She has also led Central teams and delegations in India and abroad. She has also attended the nine month Advanced Professional Programme at IIPA. She has had exposure in connection with her work to various international agencies like the World Bank, WHO, UNDP, ILO, UNICEF, NORAD, DANIDA, IFAD etc. She was in charge of international co-operation while working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India. While working as Additional Secretary (Health) she oversaw the preparation of the path breaking Integrated Disease Surveillence Program (IDSP), funding for which was successfully negotiated with the World Bank. She also had a large and sustained exposure to the voluntary sector particularly in the women & child, rural development, health and tribal development sectors.

She has been fortunate to have a wide and continuous exposure to the social sector and has been associated with designing and implementing programmes for the poor and vulnerable groups. She had the good fortune of being in the Ministry of Rural Development when the 73rd Constitutional Amendment for empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions was enacted. She has toured intensively in the districts, blocks and villages in a number of states of the country.

Her rich administrative background particularly in the area of social responsibility and people’s participation will be of immense use while discharging her duties as Member, NDMA.

She Relinquished charge on 28th Sep 2010.

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