Before being elevated as Member Secretary Planning Commission, she was Secretary Labour and Employment and Secretary Planning Commission. During 1991, she was closely involved with the reforms agenda of the Government and worked on the amendment to the MRTP Act.

She worked on several landmark legislations subsequently - notably - Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act 1996, Social Security for the Unorganised Workers 2008.
In April 2008 she also introduced a unique smart card based health insurance scheme for BPL workers called RSBY which has recently been commended in the Budget Speech and extended to NREGA workers.