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About Me

With 14 years of experience as an investigative health journalist analysing public health systems and government programmes across India, she is pursuing an MSc in Global Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Commonwealth Shared Scholar. Her career reflects a progression from field-based systems analysis to policy research, programme evaluation, and evidence-informed decision-making in LMICs.

Her work examined implementation gaps within India’s Tuberculosis Programme, maternal and child health services, vector-borne disease control, rare diseases, and climate-sensitive burdens. Across rural districts, tertiary hospitals, and informal settlements, she analysed surveillance data, mortality trends, programme budgets, and governance frameworks. She engaged with district health officers, state health departments, national policymakers, epidemiologists, and WHO representatives, aligning her work with government liaison, stakeholder coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and health systems strengthening.

Her bylines include The Indian Express, The BMJ, Global Health Now, Health Policy Watch, and other leading publications. She continues to write for international platforms, translating epidemiological data and policy developments into accessible, analytically grounded public health reporting.

At LSE, she is strengthening her expertise in health economics, impact evaluation, monitoring and evaluation, systematic reviews, and applied quantitative analysis using R, Stata, and Excel. Her academic focus includes climate-resilient health systems, infectious disease policy, universal health coverage, and equity-driven governance.

Rupsa combines implementation-level health systems experience, government engagement, evidence analysis, and policy training. She is building a career in health systems strengthening and climate and health policy across research, pharma, multilateral, consulting, and development organisations in LMICs.

She has received national and international honours for her contributions to public health.

National and International Honours in Health:
1. CIVICA Scholar
2. Commonwealth Shared Scholarship
3. Chevening South Asia Journalism Fellow
4. Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism
5. Dart Centre Fellow, Columbia University
6. Rare Disease Reporting Fellow, National Press Foundation
7. MSF South Asia Without Borders Media Fellow
8. Schizophrenia Research Foundation WHO Fellow
9. Lilly-REACH National Media Fellow
10. Statesman Award for Rural Reporting
11. UNFPA-Laadli Media Award

Journalistic Profiles

National Press Foundation •

Rupsa Chakraborty - National Press Foundation

Rupsa Chakraborty is an award-winning health journalist from India with over a decade of experience reporting on public health, rare diseases, and health inequities. She received the NPF Rare Disease Reporting Fellowship in 2023 and has also been a Dart Center Early Childhood Reporting Fellow and a Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow. A recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award—India’s highest journalism honour. Rupsa is currently pursuing an MSc in Global Healt...
The Indian Express •

Read All The Stories Written by Rupsa Chakraborty.

Rupsa Chakraborty, is a special correspondent with The Indian Express' Mumbai bureau. She writes on issues related to health, science, gender sensitivity and rural development. She tweets @RupsaChak Maharashtra cancels 500 doctor appointments as specialists fail to show up; low pay, poor infrastructure blamedSubscriber OnlyFebruary 24, 2025 22:31 ISTOfficials believe many chose private practice or out-of-state jobs instead. To prevent disruptions in public healthcare, the government is...

Media Mentions & Interviews

National Press Foundation •

How a Journalist Revealed Failures in India's Rare Disease Plan - National Press Foundation

When health researcher and journalist Rupsa Chakraborty began a six-month investigation into India’s rare disease funding policy, she knew there was a lot at stake.
“Patients were going to the centers begging the doctors to release the fund for the treatment of their children who are dying in front of their eyes,” Chakraborty told the more than 60 journalists convened for the National Press Foundation’s Rare Disease Reporting Fellowship.
She herself was also a 2023 NPF Rare Disease fellow who pr...
NWM India •

17th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism: Congratulations to NWMI members!

Members of the Network of Women in Media, India, were recognised for their work at the 17th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism for the years 2021 and 2022. The awards were presented on March 19, 2024, at New Delhi. The awards aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognize courage and commitment and showcase outstanding contributions and individuals every year.
NWMI awardees:
*Azeefa Fathima – Senior Reporter, The News Minute (joint winner with Balakrishnan Ganeshan and Praj...
The Statesman •

Chronicling the challenges and triumphs of rural India - The Statesman

The soul of India lives in its villages,” was Mahatma Gandhi’s perspective about the rural parts of the country.
Four journalists who have touched the soul of rural India through their meticulous works, highlighting some of the grave issues faced by the people of remote areas in the country, were honoured with The Statesman Rural Reporting Awards 2022 this evening.Advertisement
In an age where journalism has often become defined by the race to chase the news of the day, the rush for breaking n...
Newslaundry •

Backward districts, health infra: What mainstream media reportage can help change in 2023

The end of the year usually leads to reflections on the year gone by. But let me break with tradition and instead set out a wish list for the kind of coverage we can hope for in the coming year. This could be wishful thinking given that 2023 is an election year with nine states going to the polls. But there’s no harm in hoping.Even as the media is as usual dominated either by politics or, as in the case of TV news, nonsensical controversies – such as the saffron bikini drama – manufactured out o...
St Pauls Institute - SPICE •

A Health Reporter talks about her process - St Pauls Institute - SPICE

Insights, observations, and, most importantly, tips, were shared lavishly and generously by Indian Express reporter Rupsa Chakraborty, during a session in our  Reporting Lab held recently.


In her interaction with students of the PG class in Journalism, Chakraborty had three specific suggestions for those venturing into the field of journalism.


The journalist who has spent ten years working the health beat with two other publications before her current assignment, also writes on gender issu...