[2] Shantha Sinha was born on 7 January 1950 in Nellore district of coastal Andhra Pradesh.
In 2003, she was given the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, in recognition of her work in "guiding the people of AP to end the scourge of child labour and send all of their children to school".
[7] A rights activist, her contribution to a phenomenal reduction in child labour in nearly 1200 villages of Ranga Reddy district in Telangana is perhaps unparalleled.
Recognizing her work, the Government of India appointed her as the first chairperson of the newly formed NCPCR.
Sinha, Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) advocated amendment of the Child Labour Act and also requested for including adolescent labourers under its purview in presence of Yogesh Dube, Member of NCPCR and Neela Gangadharan, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, in a function organised by ILO, NCPCR and United Nations Children's Fund on the occasion of Anti-Child Labour Day.