Chitra Jayant Naik (1918–2010) was an Indian educationist, writer, social worker, the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Education and the expert member of the Planning Commission of India. She was the chairperson of the Non-formal Education Committee set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and was a member of the National Literacy Mission. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986. Early life Chitra Naik was born on 15 July 1918 at Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra and graduated in arts with honours. She continued her studies to get another graduate degree in education and secured a doctoral degree (PhD) from Mumbai University. In 1953, she received a Fulbright scholarship and did post doctoral studies at Columbia University, New York. Her career started at the Rural Institute in Bhudargad, Kolhapur District where she organised educational camps among the harijans, gathered women to form women's associations (Mahila Mandal) and founded Children's daycare centres (Balwadi) and a health clinic. Legacy and positions In 1948, she helped her husband and renowned educationist, Jayant Pandurang Naik, to found the Indian Institute of Education (IIE), a research institute affiliated to Mumbai University, to facilitate higher education and research facilities for the teachers in the Greater Bombay area. Chitra Naik was a collaborator in the endeavours of Jayant Naik, an inductee of the UNESCO Roll of Honour of the 100 significant educational thinkers of the last 25 centuries. She served as the director of IIE and under her leadership, the institution set up training centres for women in the disciplines of home nursing, first aid, maternal and child care, sanitation and nutrition. She also established a Children's Home (Bal Bhavan) and a training centre for social workers, organised education camps on family planning for women and conducted a project study on Mobilising Gram Panchayats for Rural Development. Naik was the director of National Institute of Basic Education, New Delhi and chaired the Non-formal Education Committee of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. She was a member of the Planning Commission of India and attended to the responsibilities of the General education, Social welfare and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe as the expert member of the commission for the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997–2002). She was a member of the Working Group on Adult Education (1978–83) under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and