Senior IAS Officer Sunil Kumar Barnwal appointed CEO of National Health Authority

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Sunil Kumar Barnwal as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority. He is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education.

Sunil Kumar Barnwal is a 1997-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre. An engineering graduate, he also holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore and Harvard University. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has served in several key positions within the Government of Jharkhand, including Secretary of the Department of Industries, Mines & Geology, and Secretary to the Chief Minister. With more than 21 years of experience in a wide range of departments, he has contributed extensively across sectors such as education, IT, industry promotion, energy, natural resource management, and governance.

For the past three years, he has worked for the Government of India in Delhi, focusing on various aspects of public policy and management. In a statement on his LinkedIn profile, he wrote:

“I am an IAS officer in India. I have worked for the Government of Jharkhand for over 21 years in diverse areas of public policy and management, particularly in education, IT, industry promotion, energy, natural resource management, and governance. For the last three years, I have been working for the Government of India in Delhi.”

The National Health Authority (NHA) is responsible for implementing India’s flagship public health insurance scheme—Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The NHA oversees the national rollout of PM-JAY, while State Health Agencies (SHAs), established as autonomous societies or trusts in the states, are responsible for implementing the scheme at the state level, including the extension of coverage to non-SECC beneficiaries.
MB Bureau