Shimla: An IAS officer of repute, belonging to the 1984 Himachal Pradesh cadre and former Deputy Commissioner of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, Manisha Shridhar, has been conferred a ‘Lifetime honour’ for her leadership role in advancing public health governance, international cooperation, and health systems strengthening with integrity and vision in India.
Shridhar was presented by Vice-President of India CP Radhakrishnan at New Delhi on behalf of the Times Foundation at the CSR Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on Saturday.
One of the country’s few bureaucrats with expertise on intellectual property rights, Shridhar has a distinguished career, including Regional Advisor at the
World Health Organisation’s Southeast Asia Regional Office, and has made exemplary contributions in shaping policy frameworks on intellectual property, trade and health regulation, pandemic preparedness, non-communicable disease control, and global health equity.
In her 882-page book, Universal Healthcare—Navigating the Intellectual Property and Trade Regime, released a year ago by Union Health minister JP Nadda, she has produced a scholarly work covering nine key sectors: health, patents, drug regulations, the HIV/AIDS crisis, digital and e-health, and traditional medicine knowledge.
VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog, the brain behind India’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ , POSHAN Abhiyaan, and the leader of India’s COVID-19 vaccine administration group, has written the forward for Manisha Shridhar’s book, published by Thomson Reuters.