Sita Achaya qualified MB BS Madras in 1940 and later moved on to take the DGO and MS after winning 19 gold medals in the course of her studies. An Indian government scholarship enabled her to come to England and take her Fellowship in 1947. A house surgeon's position at Hammersmith was followed by a surgical registry in Edinburgh. She was recalled to India for appointment as Professor of Anatomy at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, later becoming Principal of the same College and Superintendent of the attached hospital. She was appointed Dean of the Medical Faculty of Delhi University, and was President of the Anatomy Society of India for a term, besides acting as examiner in anatomy for numerous Indian universities. There was also a short stint away from the College when she was appointed Deputy Director-General of Health of Medical Education in the Ministry of Health of the Government of India. She married Lieutenant-General A C Iyappa, chairman of India's largest electronic production unit when he retired, and who died of cancer in 1983. There were no children of the marriage. She died in Bangalore, India, on 2 August 1993 following prolonged arthritis and eventual lung and kidney complications.