Draft:Sampath Kumar
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Last edited by Gulykera (talk | contribs) 4 days ago. (Update) |
Dr. Sampath Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sampath Kumar 8 January 1979 Rajuweir, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | Public administration, rural development, health policy |
| Awards |
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Dr. Sampath Kumar (born 8 January 1979) is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Meghalaya cadre. He has held several senior positions in the Government of Meghalaya, including Principal Secretary, Development Commissioner, and Chief Executive Officer of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA).
He served nineteen years with the Government of India and seven years on sabbatical working in the non-profit sector. During this period, he has been involved in the design and implementation of policy initiatives related to public health, poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, rural development, climate change, and strengthening local governance and state capability. He has also commissioned and facilitated evaluations and research studies to assess government and non-governmental development programmes
Early life and education
[edit]Sampath Kumar was born in Rajuweir, Andhra Pradesh, on 8 January 1979. He pursued doctoral studies in Public Health and Policy at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Shillong, in collaboration with Martin Luther Christian University, Meghalaya, between 2021 and 2024. His doctoral research focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the Social Audit Act in Meghalaya through a mixed-methods approach.
In 2013–2014, he attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he obtained a Master of Public Administration degree and was a fellow in the Edward S. Mason Program in Public Policy and Management.
From 1990 to 1993, he studied at Osmania University, Hyderabad, where he earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering.
Career
[edit]Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in the Meghalaya cadre and has since served in a wide range of administrative roles. He has been Principal Secretary of the Health & Family Welfare, Social Welfare, Forests & Environment, and Community & Rural Development Departments.
He also worked as Development Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority. Earlier in his career, he served as District Magistrate of Tura in Meghalaya and as Joint Collector in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh. He has also been associated with poverty alleviation programmes and capacity-building projects at the state level.
As of 2025, he continues to serve as Principal Secretary to the Community & Rural Development Department of the Government of Meghalaya and as Chief Executive Officer and Project Director of MegARISE Meghalaya.
Recognition
[edit]In 2025, he was selected as a Jury Favourite at the Creative Bureaucracy Festival in Berlin for an innovation from Meghalaya aimed at improving maternal and infant health outcomes, which was shortlisted as a finalist.
The same year, he received the Van Leer Foundation Fellowship (2025–2026) in recognition of his role in initiating and implementing Meghalaya's Early Childhood Development Mission.
In 2024, he was conferred the Best Paper Award by Springer Journal of Public Health Policy for commissioning and co-authoring a study titled The need for a holistic approach towards pandemic control: lessons from a cross-sectional study on COVID-19 in Meghalaya, India.
Also in 2024, the Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS) recognised him at its first Award Ceremony in Shillong for innovation in the health sector, specifically for best practice in Positive Public Health Management in Meghalaya.
Earlier in his career, he received the Young Leadership Award (2007) from the Rilbong Sports and Cultural Club, as reported by The Shillong Times, for his leadership and commitment to public service. In 1997, he was awarded the L. V. Reddy Memorial Award by the National Academy of Administration for his performance as the best officer trainee allotted to work in conflict-affected areas.
Other roles
[edit]In addition to his formal responsibilities as an IAS officer, Kumar has been Vice Chairman of the Meghalaya Livelihoods and Rural Futures initiative and Chairman of GIL, a state-level governance programme. He has also served as a mentor in the initiative From the Earth to the Skies and is the author of a work titled Health Care.
Publications
[edit]Kumar, S.; Desai, S.; Sivaram, S.; Ramkumar, S.; Dohtdong, P.; Nanda, A.; Ramesh, S. (2025). "It’s everyone’s problem: Institutionalising multisectoral action for maternal health in Meghalaya, India". Annals of Global Health. 91 (1): Article 7. doi:10.5334/aogh.4587. ● Kim, S.; Sarkar, R.; Kumar, S.; Lewis, M. G.; Tozan, Y.; Albert, S. (2024). "Understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Meghalaya, India: Multiple correspondence and agglomerative hierarchical cluster analyses". PLOS Global Public Health. 4 (2): e0002250. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0002250. ● Kumar, S.; Dutta, E. K.; Venkatachalam, S.; Downey, L. E.; Albert, S. (2022). "An analysis of government-sponsored health insurance enrolment and claims data from Meghalaya: Insights into the provision of health care in North East India". PLOS ONE. 17 (6): e0268858. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0268858. ● Kumar, S.; de Boef, W. S.; Singh, S.; Trivedi, P.; Yadav, K. S.; Mohanan, P. S.; Yadavendra, J. P.; Isaacs, K. (2021). "Unleashing the social capital of self-help groups for strengthening seed systems in Uttar Pradesh, India". Global Food Security. 29: 100522. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100522. ● Kumar, S.; Ruducha, J.; Hariharan, D.; Potter, J.; Ahmad, D.; Mohanan, P. S.; Irani, L.; Long, K. N. G. (2019). "Measuring coordination between women’s self-help groups and local health systems in rural India: A social network analysis". BMJ Open. 9 (8): e028943. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-028943. ● Kumar, S.; Singh, R.; Neogi, S. B.; Hazra, A.; et al. (2019). "Utilization of maternal health services and its determinants: A cross-sectional study among women in rural Uttar Pradesh, India". Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. 38: 13. doi:10.1186/s41043-019-0173-5. ● Kumar, S.; Hazra, A.; Atmavilas, Y.; Hay, K.; Saggurti, N.; Verma, R. K.; Ahmad, J.; Mohanan, P. S.; Mavalankar, D.; Irani, L. (2020). "Effects of health behaviour change intervention through women's self-help groups on maternal and newborn health practices and related inequalities in rural India: A quasi-experimental study". EClinicalMedicine. 18: 100198. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.10.011. ● Kumar, S.; & others. (2017). "Perceived social networks and newborn health: Evidence from self-help group communities in Northern India". Societies. 7 (4): 35. doi:10.3390/soc7040035.