If the speculation turns out true, these names will be included in the Modi’s cabinet 3.0. Here’s a glimpse into the background of the expected new cabinet ministers.
Shiv Pratap Shukla
Shiv Pratap Shukla is a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development. Shukla was elected a Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for four consecutive times in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1996.
He served as a Cabinet Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government for eight years. He focussed on Rural Development, Education and Prison reform during his tenure.
A Law Graduate with an LLB from Gorakhpur University, Shiv Pratap Shukla started off early in politics as a student leader in the 1970s.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey
Ashwini Kumar Choubey is a Lok Sabha MP from Buxar, Bihar. He is member of the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates and Standing Committee on Energy. He is also a Member of Central Silk Board. Choubey has been elected for five consecutive terms to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has held portfolios including those of Health, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering as a Cabinet Minister of the Government of Bihar for eight years.
Choubey was an active part of the JP movement in the 1970s and served as the President of the Student’s Union of Patna University. Ashwini Choubey has authored a book Kedarnath Trasadi on the tragedy. A BSc (Hons) in Zoology, he has a special interest in Yoga.
Virendra Kumar
Virendra Kumar is a Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgah, Madhya Pradesh. He has served six terms as Lok Sabha MP. Virendra Kumar is the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, and has been Chairman of the Joint Committee on Office of Profit and a Member of National Social Security Board.
Kumar has also been a Member of the Parliamentary Committees on Labour and Welfare, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Privileges, Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Virendra Kumar had actively participated in the JP movement of the 1970s, and went to jails for 16 months under MISA during the Emergency. He had initiated a movement for solving the problems faced by students and opened a library for their assistance. Virendra Kumar has an MA in Economics and a PhD in Child Labour
Anantkumar Hegde
Anantkumar Hegde is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and Human Resource Development. Having been elected as an MP for the first time at the age of 28 years, Anantkumar Hedge is in his fifth term as Lok Sabha MP.
He has been a member of multiple Parliamentary Standing Committees including Finance, Home Affairs, Human Resource Development, Commerce, Agriculture and External Affairs.
Hegde has also been a member of the Spices Board of India for four terms. Anantkumar Hegde is the Founder President of Kadamba, an NGO working in the field of rural development, rural health, SHGs, rural marketing and other rural welfare programmes. He is a practitioner of Taekwondo, a Korean Martial Art.
Raj Kumar Singh
Raj Kumar Singh is a Lok Sabha MP from Arrah, Bihar. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Health and Family Welfare, Personnel, Pensions and Public Grievances and Law & Justice. Raj Kumar Singh is a former IAS officer of the 1975 batch, Bihar cadre. Raj Kumar Singh rose up the ranks to become the Home Secretary of India. He served in multiple important roles of responsibility including Defence Production Secretary and Joint Secretary Home; as well as heading Home, Industries, Public Works and Agriculture among other departments in the Bihar Government. He has contributed to schemes for Police Modernization and Prison Modernization, and laying down a framework for Disaster Management.
Raj Kumar Singh studied English Literature at St. Stephens College, New Delhi, and got a Bachelors Degree in Law thereafter. He also went on to study at the RVB Delft University in Netherlands.
Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Puri is a former IFS officer of the 1974 batch. Puri is the President and Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) think tank, and was the Vice President of International Peace Institute, New York.
Hardeep Puri’s four-decade career in diplomacy spanning the multilateral arena, included critical roles of Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador to Brazil and the United Kingdom and Permanent Representative of India to Geneva.
As Head of the Indian Delegation to the UN Security Council, Hardeep Puri had served as Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN as well as President of the United Nations Security Council.
An alumnus of The Hindu College, Delhi University, Hardeep Puri was a student leader and active during the JP movement. He briefly taught at St. Stephens College before joining the IFS
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is a Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Chairperson of the Fellowship Committee. A sports enthusiast, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has participated at National and All India Inter University level in Basket Ball. He currently is a Member of the All India Council of Sports and the President of Basketball India Players Association.
Shekhawat has a MPhil & MA in Philosophy from Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur.
Satya Pal Singh
Satya Pal Singh is a Lok Sabha MP from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit. Satya Pal Singh is a distinguished former IPS officer of the 1980 batch, Maharashtra cadre, and has been recognized with medals like the Antrik Suraksha Sewa Padak by Government of India in 2008 and a Special Service Medal for extraordinary work in the Naxalite areas of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 1990. Singh has been the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. Singh has written best-selling books, including on topics like tribal conflict resolution and Naxalism. He is a scholar of Vedic studies and Sanskrit, and regularly delivers lectures on spirituality, religious harmony and corruption.
Born in Basauli village in Baghpat, Satya Pal Singh has a MSc and MPhil in Chemistry, MBA in Strategic Management from Australia, MA in Public Administration as well as a PhD in Naxalism.
Alphons Kannanthanam
Alphons Kannanthanam is a former IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre. He is also a practicing advocate. Alphons Kannanthanam became famous as Delhi’s Demolition Man when he was Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, having cleared DDA areas of encroachment removing around 15,000 illegal buildings. This got him listed in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders in 1994. Born in a non-electrified Manimala village in Kottayam district to a World War 2 veteran, he played a role in the literacy movement in India as District Collector of Kottayam. It was declared the first 100 per cent literate town in India in 1989.
Alphons Kannanthanam set up Janshakti, an NGO in 1994, to get citizens to believe in their ability to make government accountable to people. Kannanthanam retired from the IAS, to get elected as an Independent Member of Legislative Assembly for Kanjirappally in Kerala from 2006 to 2011.
He is a Member of the Committee to prepare the final draft of the National Education Policy 2017. He has authored a bestselling book “Making A Difference”.
Only the time will tell if they live up to the expectations of PM Modi and 1.2 billion Indians.
