Dr. Sonia Trikha Khullar has been appointed as the new member of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC). The Manohar Lal Khattar led state government has decided to appoint her, after she took voluntary retirement on 11 December from the post of Director General of Health Services, Haryana.
Ms. Trikha was sworn in as member of the HPSC on 12 December in the presence of the CM and the Governor. Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office, allegiance, and secrecy at Raj Bhavan.
She took voluntary retirement after serving as Director General in the Health Department for one and a quarter years. She is the wife of CM’s chief principal secretary (CPS) Rajesh Khullar, an IAS officer of 1988 batch.
Her appointment is seen as Mr. Khattar’s formula for ending the two-month-long fiasco in the state health department and pacifying his cabinet colleague Anil Vij.
Dr. Sonia Trikha has played an important role in changing and enhancing public health system at the national and international level.
She obtained MBBS with Gold Medal Distinction in 1991 and MD in Obstetrics/Gynecology in 1995 from Lady Hardinge Medical College, University of Delhi.
She obtained Post Graduate Diploma in Health and Hospital Management from Indira Gandhi National Open University in 2009 and MSc in Public Health from renowned institute like London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2013.
Her dedication and strategic leadership have contributed significantly to the improvement of public health system in Haryana.
During her 25 years of career, she has served as a health consultant for many years in the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Asian Development Bank.
She worked as a HIV and an AIDS specialist in UNICEF’s Delhi office between February 2010 and February 2012. In the same office, she worked as Health Officer (Maternal and Newborn Care) from January 2009 to February 2010.
From June 2007 to July 2008, she worked as National Advisor, Family and Reproductive Health in the Delhi office of the World Health Organization. Apart from this, she worked as Urban Primary Health Care Specialist in Asian Development Bank (ADB) in New Delhi from October 2014 to October 2015.
Not only this, but during the Covid pandemic, she provided technical leadership in containing Corona, focusing on capacity building, laboratory testing, supply chain support and continuity of essential services.
Under her leadership, the diagnostic capacity for COVID-19 testing was increased from 300 RT-PCR tests per day to 15,000 per day during March to September 2020. During this period, due to her efforts, special Covid emergency departments and ICUs were established in secondary care facilities.
She also provided leadership for the preparation of ‘Vision 2030’ document on SDG 3 in consultation with all stakeholders.
She coordinated implementation of several projects with international organizations including WHO, CDC and J-PAL.
In a nutshell, Ms. Trikha has made significant contributions to the field of public health through her research and publications.
