
Arun Kumar Nair
State Director, RajasthanArun has over 24 years of experience in the development sector, with focus on projects related to family planning, abortion care, maternal and child health, nutrition, adolescent SRH, and health system strengthening across multiple states. He currently leads IDF’s VIKALP project in Rajasthan assisting the government in increasing the use of reversible contraceptives among low-parity women and couples.
Prior to IDF, Arun held leadership roles at PATH India, FRHS India, and Pathfinder International, contributing to key public health initiatives including respiratory care during COVID-19, adolescent health, and neglected diseases like Kala-azar. He has also worked with HLFPPT, the Institute for OneWorld Health, and UNICEF-supported programs. Arun holds a master’s degree in Public Health, a postgraduate diploma in Public Health Services Management, a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration (Marketing), and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

Devendra Kumar Tripathi
Senior State Director, Uttar Pradesh & BiharDevendra has more than 17 years of experience in Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, Nutrition & Adolescent (RMNCH+A), Program Implementation & Management, NGOs partnerships and capacity building of stakeholders with different organizations in Uttar Pradesh. Prior to IDF, Devendra was associated with India Health Action Trust (UPTSU), fhi360, Care India and PANI in different capacities. Devendra has a PhD in social work from Lucknow University, and a Postgraduate degree in Social Work from Dr. R. M. L. Awadh University, Faizabad. He was awarded the Governor’s Gold Medal for securing the highest marks in Masters in Social Work.

Karuna Singh
State Director, RajasthanKaruna has almost two decades of experience in the development sector, mostly in the domain of public health. She joined IDF in 2009 to lead the program in Rajasthan, and previously worked as a freelancer serving various organisation including Karnataka Health Promotion Trust, India-Canada HIV AIDS Project, Rajasthan State AIDS Control Society, PCI, and LBII. She holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology and post-graduate diploma in Epidemiology.

Risha Kushwaha
State Director, Madhya Pradesh and ChhattisgarhRisha has experience of more than 20 years in social development and public health, specifically in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Nutrition & Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A); Water & Sanitization; Education and Women Empowerment. Prior to joining IDF, she was working with Ernst and Young LLP managing the Public Private Partnership programme of National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh. She is a Master of Social Work from Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Development and Management from Institute of Engineering and Rural Technology

Rita Pradhan
Senior State Director, AssamRita is a public health Professional with more than 15 years of experience in liaising and coordination with the state governments and MoHFW. Prior to joining IDF, Rita served as Consultant Training and Human Resources with Regional Resource Centre, North East, Government of India where she would liaise with Mission Directors, National Health Mission and other officials, with MH&FW in Delhi for technical inputs for National Health Mission implementation. She would also provide technical support in preparation of annual State PIP and be responsible for capacity building for implementation of NHM.
Rita has done her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Tezpur University, Assam. She has also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Care Management from Symbiosis Centre for Health, Pune.
Picture copyright: Sumit Gulati / Ipas Development Foundation