Ms Vini Mahajan is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1987 batch, Punjab cadre, with over 37 years of distinguished experience in public administration, policy formulation and institutional leadership at both the Government of India and State Government levels. She served as Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, from January 2022 to October 2024, where she was responsible for policy formulation and implementation of national programmes relating to rural drinking water supply and sanitation. Earlier, she made history as the first woman Chief Secretary of Punjab and, over the course of her career, headed several important departments including Housing & Urban Development, Revenue, Health & Family Welfare, Industries & Commerce, Information Technology & Investment Promotion, and Finance. She also served in the Prime Minister's Office as Director and subsequently Joint Secretary from 2005 to 2012, contributing to policy coordination at the highest level of government, and earlier as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. Her extensive field experience includes key district assignments, including as Deputy Commissioner, Ropar.
Ms Mahajan holds a Bachelor's degree (Honours) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, where she was placed on the Roll of Honour and was subsequently conferred the Distinguished Alumnus Award. She is a recipient of the National Talent Search Scholarship and was selected as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at American University, Washington, D.C. Her professional interests include public policy, governance reforms, infrastructure, public finance, urban development, water security, public health, and institutional strengthening, and she continues to contribute to these areas through her board, advisory and public policy engagements.
