Bura may refer to several different things:

• Bura (genus), a genus of beetles
• Boura (Achaea) (also Boura), a city of Achaea, Greece
• Bura (mythology), a figure in Greek mythology
• Bura (wind), a wind in the northern Mediterranean

• In the African continent:
  • The ancient/medieval civilization of Bura-Asinda (with its Bura culture known for ceramics and metallurgy)
  • The Bura archeological site in southwest Niger in the Niger River valley where the Bura-Asinda civilization was discovered in 1975
  • Another spelling for various places also known as Boura; see Boura, Burkina Faso (disambiguation)
  • In linguistics, Bura (also Bura-Pabir), a Chadic language spoken in Nigeria
  • Bura, Tana River District, Kenya
  • Bura, Taita-Taveta District, Kenya

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Manmohan Singh ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ मनमोहन सिंह
13th Prime Minister of India[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 May 2004
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Railways
In office 19 May 2011 – 13 July 2011
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Mamata Banerjee
Succeeded by	Dinesh Trivedi
Minister of Finance
In office 30 November 2008 – 24 January 2009
Preceded by	P. Chidambaram
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
In office 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996
Prime Minister	Narasimha Rao
Preceded by	Yashwant Sinha
Succeeded by	Jaswant Singh
Minister of External Affairs
In office 6 November 2005 – 24 October 2006
Preceded by	Kunwar Natwar Singh
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
In office 15 January 1985 – 31 August 1987
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	Punjala Shiv Shankar
Governor of the Reserve Bank
In office 15 September 1982 – 15 January 1985
Preceded by	Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel
Succeeded by	Amitav Ghosh
Personal details
Born	(1932-09-26) 26 September 1932 (age 79) Gah, Punjab, British India[2]
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Gursharan Kaur (1958–present)
Children	Upinder Daman Amrit
Residence	Panchavati, New Delhi (Official) Guwahati (Private)
Alma mater	Panjab University, Chandigarh St John's College, Cambridge Nuffield College, Oxford
Profession	Economist Civil servant Social worker Professor
Religion	Sikhism
Signature
Website	Prime Minister's Office

Manmohan Singh (Punjabi: ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪ́ŋɡ], Hindi: मनमोहन सिंह [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪŋɦ] ( listen); born 26 September 1932) is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term.^[3] A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Indian National Congress (Congress) party. He is a four-time Member of Parliament from the Upper House of the Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam.^[4] His term in the 14th Rajya Sabha was from 22 May 2004 to 26 February 2009. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014. On 27 May 2012, he became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Myanmar in 25 years.^[5]

Born in Gah, Punjab in British India (now Pakistan) in 1932, he migrated to India with his family at the time of Partition in 1947. Singh studied at Panjab University, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.^[6] Thereafter, while Singh was working at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Lalit Narayan Mishra, the then Indian Minister for Foreign Trade, appointed Singh as an advisor to his ministry. He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1982 and 1985,^[6] Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987 ^[6] and Secretary General of the South Commission from 1987 to 1990.^[7] Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, he was inducted into Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet as Finance Minister the same year, a post he held until 1996. His tenure as Finance Minister is best remembered for the economic reforms he carried out, which ended the Licence Raj system and helped open the Indian economy.^[8]

When the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power after the 2004 general elections, Singh became Prime Minister when Congress President Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly declined the position.^[9] In 2009, the UPA and Singh were reelected for a second consecutive five year term.

Key legislation passed during his tenure include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act, 2005. Major initiatives include the National Rural Health Mission of India and the Unique Identification Authority of India.

Early life and education[link]

Manmohan Singh was born to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur on 26 September 1932, in Gah, Punjab, British India, into a Sikh Khatri family.^[6] He lost his mother when he was very young and was raised by his paternal grandmother, to whom he was very close.

After the Partition of India, his family migrated to Amritsar, India, where he studied at Hindu College. He attended Panjab University, Chandigarh, then in Hoshiarpur,^[10][11][12] Punjab, studying Economics and got his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1952 and 1954, respectively, standing first throughout his academic career. He went on to read for the Economics Tripos at Cambridge as a member of St John's College. He won the Wright's Prize for distinguished performance in 1955 and 1957. He was also one of the few recipients of the Wrenbury scholarship. In 1962, Singh completed his studies from the University of Oxford where he was a member of Nuffield College. His doctoral thesis "India’s export performance, 1951–1960, export prospects and policy implications" which was later the base for his book "India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth".^[13]

Early career[link]

After completing his Ph.D., Singh worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1966–1969. During the 1970s, he taught at the University of Delhi and worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the former Cabinet Minister for Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra. As the Minister of Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra was one of the first to recognize Singh's talent as an economist and appointed him his advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Singh and Mishra first met, coincidentally, on a flight from India to Chile. Mishra was on his way to Santiago, Chile to attend an UNCTAD meeting.^[14]

In 1982, he was appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and held the post until 1985.^[6] He went on to become the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987.^[6] Following his tenure at the Planning Commission, he was Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland from 1987 to 1990.^[7]

Finance Minister of India[link]

In 1991, India's Prime Minister at the time, P.V. Narasimha Rao, chose Singh to be his Finance Minister. At this time, India's fiscal deficit was close to 8.5 per cent of the gross domestic product, the balance of payments deficit was huge and the current account deficit was close to 3.5 percent of India's GDP.^[15] India's foreign reserves barely amounted to US$1 billion, enough to pay for a few weeks of imports, in comparison to US$283 billion today.^[16]

Evidently, India was facing an economic crisis. At this point, the government of India sought relief from the supranational International Monetary Fund, which, while assisting India financially, imposed several conditions regarding India's economic policy. In effect, IMF-dictated policy meant that the ubiquitous Licence Raj had to be dismantled, and India's attempt at a state-controlled economy had to end. Accordingly, Singh, who had thus far been one of the most influential architects of India's socialist economy, slowly opened the Indian economy to foreign investment and business competition.^[15][17]

Rao and Singh thus implemented policies to open up the economy and change India's socialist economy to a more capitalistic one, in the process dismantling the Licence Raj, a system that inhibited the prosperity of private businesses. They removed many obstacles standing in the way of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and initiated the process of the privatization of public sector companies. However, in spite of these reforms, Rao's government was voted out in 1996 due to non-performance of government in other areas. In praise of Singh's work that pushed India towards a market economy, long-time Cabinet minister P. Chidambaram has referred to Singh as the Deng Xiaoping of India.^[18]

In 1993, Singh offered his resignation from the post of Finance Minister after a parliamentary investigation report criticised his ministry for not being able to anticipate a US$1.8 billion securities scandal. Prime Minister Rao refused Singh's resignation, instead promising to punish the individuals directly accused in the report.^[19]

Career in the Rajya Sabha[link]

Singh was first elected to the upper house of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, in 1991^[20] by the legislature of the state of Assam, and was re-elected in 1995, 2001 and 2007.^[6] From 1998 to 2004, while the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. In 1999, he contested for the Lok Sabha from South Delhi but was unable to win the seat.^[21]

Prime ministership[link]

14th Lok Sabha[link]

Wikinews has related news: Manmohan Singh becomes the third longest serving Prime Minister of India.

A renowned economist,^[22] Singh is also regarded as one of the "greatest statesmen in Asian history".^[23] Shown here with Indian delegation at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm.

After the 2004 general elections, the Indian National Congress ended the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tenure by becoming the political party with the single largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. It formed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with allies and staked claim to form government. In a surprise move, Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declared Manmohan Singh, a technocrat, as the UPA candidate for the Prime Ministership. Despite the fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, he "has enjoyed massive popular support, not least because he was seen by many as a clean politician untouched by the taint of corruption that has run through many Indian administrations."^[24] He took the oath as the Prime Minister of India on 22 May 2004.^[25][26]

Economic policy[link]

Following the advice of International Monetary Fund in 1991, Singh as Finance Minister, freed India from the Licence Raj, source of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades. He liberalized the Indian economy, allowing it to speed up development dramatically. During his term as Prime Minister, Singh continued to encourage growth in the Indian market, enjoying widespread success in these matters. Singh, along with the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, have presided over a period where the Indian economy has grown with an 8–9% economic growth rate. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9% and became the second fastest growing major economy in the world.^[27][28]

Singh is now a strong supporter of globalization, seeing India's immense labor capacity as a path to delivering Indian goods in a worldwide market and eventually relieving large-scale poverty.^[29]

Singh's government has continued the Golden Quadrilateral and the highway modernisation program that was initiated by Vajpayee's government. Singh has also been working on reforming the banking and financial sectors, as well as public sector companies. The Finance ministry has been working towards relieving farmers of their debt and has been working towards pro-industry policies. In 2005, Singh's government introduced the value added tax, replacing sales tax. In 2007 and early 2008, the global problem of inflation impacted India.^[30]

Healthcare and education[link]

In 2005, Prime Minister Singh and his government's health ministry started the National Rural Health Mission, which has mobilised half a million community health workers. This rural health initiative was praised by the American economist Jeffrey Sachs.^[31] In 2006, his Government implemented the proposal to reserve 27% of seats in All India Institute of Medical Studies (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other central institutions of higher education for Other Backward Classes which led to 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests.

Singh has announced that eight more Indian Institutes of Technology will be opened in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The Singh government has also continued the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, begun by his predecessor, Mr. Vajpayee. The programme has included the introduction and improvement of mid-day meals and the opening of schools all over India, especially in rural areas, to fight illiteracy.

Security and Home Affairs[link]

His government has been instrumental in strengthening anti-terror laws with amendments to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), where most of provisions of POTA were reincorporated,critics however cite that the amendments make the act equally draconian. National Investigation Agency (India) (NIA) was also created soon after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. Also Unique Identification Authority of India was established in February 2009, an agency responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card with the objective of increasing national security and facilitating e-governance. His government has been criticized by some human rights organizations,that these measures could help establish a police state.

His government has also been criticized for not being able to reduce the Naxal terrorism that is menacing rural areas in Eastern and Central India. Singh's government has, however, extended the ban on the radical Islamic terror group Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Singh's administration initiated a massive reconstruction effort in Kashmir to stabilise the region but after some period of success, insurgent infiltration and terrorism in Kashmir has increased since 2009.^[32] However, the Singh administration has been successful in reducing terrorism in Northeast India.^[32]

Legislation[link]

The important National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act were passed by the Parliament in 2005 during his tenure. While the effectiveness of the NREGA has been successful at various degrees, in various regions, the RTI act has proved crucial in India's fight against corruption.^[33]

Foreign policy[link]

Manmohan Singh with American President Barack Obama at the White House. Singh is known to be a pro US leader and has contributed a lot in cementing the ties between the two countries.

Manmohan Singh has continued the pragmatic foreign policy that was started by P.V. Narasimha Rao and continued by Bharatiya Janata Party's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Singh has continued the peace process with Pakistan initiated by his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Exchange of high-level visits by top leaders from both countries have highlighted his tenure. Efforts have been made during Singh's tenure to end the border dispute with People's Republic of China. In November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India which was followed by Singh's visit to Beijing in January 2008. A major development in Sino-Indian relations was the reopening of the Nathula Pass in 2006 after being closed for more than four decades. As of 2010, the People's Republic of China is the second biggest trade partner of India.^[34]

Relations with Afghanistan have also improved considerably, with India now becoming the largest regional donor to Afghanistan.^[35] During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi in August 2008, Manmohan Singh increased the aid package to Afghanistan for the development of more schools, health clinics, infrastructure, and defence.^[36] Under the leadership of Singh, India has emerged as one of the single largest aid donors to Afghanistan.^[36]

Singh's government has worked towards stronger ties with the United States. He visited the United States in July 2005 initiating negotiations over the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. This was followed by George W. Bush's successful visit to India in March 2006, during which the declaration over the nuclear agreement was made, giving India access to American nuclear fuel and technology while India will have to allow IAEA inspection of its civil nuclear reactors. After more than two years for more negotiations, followed by approval from the IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the US Congress, India and the U.S. signed the agreement on 10 October 2008 with Pranab Mukherjee representing India.^[37]

Singh had the first official state visit to the White House during the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The visit took place in November 2009, and several discussions took place, including on trade and nuclear power.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seen here with Dmitry Medvedev, Hu Jintao, Dilma Rousseff and Jacob Zuma at the 3rd 2011 BRICS Summit in Sanya, China.

Relations have improved with Japan and European Union countries, like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Relations with Iran have continued and negotiations over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline have taken place. New Delhi hosted an India–Africa Summit in April 2006 which was attended by the leaders of 15 African states.^[38] Relations have improved with other developing countries, particularly Brazil and South Africa. Singh carried forward the momentum which was established after the "Brasilia Declaration" in 2003 and the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formed.^[39]

Manmohan Singh's government has also been especially keen on expanding ties with Israel. Since 2003, the two countries have made significant investments in each other^[40] and Israel now rivals Russia to become India's defence partner.^[41] Though there have been a few diplomatic glitches between India and Russia, especially over the delay and price hike of several Russian weapons to be delivered to India,^[42] relations between the two remain strong with India and Russia signing various agreements to increase defence, nuclear energy and space cooperation.^[43]

15th Lok Sabha[link]

India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009.^[44] Strong showing in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) form the new government under the incumbent Singh, who became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after completing a full five-year term.^[45] The Congress and its allies were able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. These included those of the UPA and the external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other minor parties.^[46]

On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.^[47][48] The 2009 Indian general election was the largest democratic election in the world held to date, with an eligible electorate of 714 million.

Public image[link]

Singh has always been perceived as a man of clean background. He is seen as a man of few words. The Independent described him as "one of the world's most revered leaders" and "a man of uncommon decency and grace," noting that he drives a Maruti 800, one of the humblest cars in the Indian market. Khushwant Singh lauded Singh as the best prime minister India has had, even rating him higher than Jawaharlal Nehru. He mentions an incident in his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most things In-between where after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Singh immediately returned the 2 lakh (US$4,000) he had borrowed from the writer for hiring taxis. Terming him as the best example of integrity, Khushwant Singh stated, "When people talk of integrity, I say the best example is the man who occupies the country's highest office." ^[49]

His personal assets amount to five crore rupees (approx 1 million USD).^[50]

In 2010, Newsweek magazine recognized him as a world leader who is respected by other heads of state, describing him as "the leader other leaders love." The article quoted Mohamed ElBaradei, who remarked that Singh is "the model of what a political leader should be."^[51] Singh is number 18 on the 2010 Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.^[52] Forbes magazine described Singh as being "universally praised as India's best prime minister since Nehru".^[53]

His public image has been tarnished recently as he heads the government which is mired in some of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history.^[54][55][56] He is also accused of being a weak prime minister by several politicians and social activists.^[57][58][59]

Family and personal life[link]

Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958. They have three daughters, Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh.^[60]

Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Delhi University. She has written six books, including Ancient Delhi (1999) and A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008).^[61] Daman Singh is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, Delhi and Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, and author of The Last Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram and a novel Nine by Nine, ^[62] she is married to an I.P.S official Ashok Patnaik who is on deputation to Intelligence Bureau. Amrit Singh is a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.^[63]

Singh has undergone multiple cardiac bypass surgeries, the most recent of which took place in January 2009.^[64]

Singh and his wife both belong to the Kohli clan,^[65][66] though neither uses the name as their surname.

Degrees and posts held[link]

• BA (Hons) in Economics 1952; MA First Class in Economics, 1954 Panjab University, Chandigarh {was then in Hoshiarpur,Punjab}, India
• Honours degree in Economics, University of Cambridge – St John's College (1957)
  • Senior Lecturer, Economics (1957–1959)
  • Reader (1959–1963)
  • Professor (1963–1965)
  • Professor of International Trade (1969–1971)
• DPhil in Economics, University of Oxford – Nuffield College (1962)
• Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
  • Honorary Professor (1966)
• Chief, Financing for Trade Section, UNCTAD, United Nations Secretariat, Manhattan, New York
  • 1966 : Economic Affairs Officer 1966
• Economic Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade, India (1971–1972)
• Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India, (1972–1976)
• Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1976)
• Director, Reserve Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Government of India, (1977–1980)
• Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1982–1985)
• Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India, (1985–1987)
• Secretary General, South Commission, Geneva (1987–1990)
• Advisor to Prime Minister of India on Economic Affairs (1990–1991)
• Chairman, University Grants Commission (15 March 1991 – 20 June 1991)^[6]
• Finance Minister of India, (21 June 1991 – 15 May 1996)
• Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (1998–2004)
• Prime Minister of India (22 May 2004 – Present)

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

In March 1983, Panjab University, Chandigarh awarded him Doctor of Letters and in 2009 created a Dr. Manmohan Singh chair in their economics department.^[67] In 1997, the University of Alberta awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Law degree.^[68] The University of Oxford awarded him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in July 2005,^[69] and in October 2006, the University of Cambridge followed with the same honour.^[70] St. John's College further honoured him by naming a Ph.D Scholarship after him, the Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship. In 2008, he was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degree by Benaras Hindu University^[71] and later that year he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by University of Madras.^[72] In 2010, he was awarded honorary doctorate degree by King Saud University.^[73]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	India portal
	Chandigarh portal
	Politics portal

• Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship at the University of Cambridge
• Economic reforms under Manmohan Singh

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manmohan Singh

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Manmohan Singh

Official

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh official website
• Profile & Curriculum Vitae
• List of current Union Ministers

Other

• Profile at BBC News
• Profile at Forbes
• Official State Visit at the White House
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Manmohan Singh on Charlie Rose
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Works by or about Manmohan Singh in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Manmohan Singh at the Notable Names Database

Links to related articles v t e Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi Morarji Desai Charan Singh Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral Manmohan Singh v t e Current Leaders of the Group of 20 Fernández de Kirchner · Gillard · Rousseff · Harper · Hu · Barroso · Hollande · Merkel · Singh · Yudhoyono · Monti · Noda · Calderón · Putin · Abdullah · Zuma · Lee · Erdoğan · Cameron · Obama v t e BRICS leaders Brazil: Dilma Rousseff · Russia: Vladimir Putin · India: Manmohan Singh · China: Hu Jintao · South Africa: Jacob Zuma v t e EAS leaders Gillard Bolkiah Wen Hun Singh Yudhoyono Noda Thongsing Najib Thein Key Aquino Putin Lee H. Lee M. Shinawatra Obama Dung v t e SAARC leaders Karzai Hasina Thinley Singh Hassan Bhattarai Gillani Rajapaksa

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Nitin Gadkari
Maharashtra Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1990
Minister for PWD, Maharashtra
In office 27th May 1995 – 1999
President of Bharatiya Janata Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 25th December 2009
Preceded by	Rajnath Singh
Personal details
Born	(1957-05-27) May 27, 1957 (age 55) Nagpur, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Kanchan Gadkari
Children	Nikhil, Sarang and Ketki
Alma mater	Nagpur University
Occupation	Lawyer, Industrialist
Religion	Hindu
Website	nitingadkari.in

Nitin Gadkari Marathi  pronunciation (help·info);(born 27 May 1957)is a senior Indian politician and the current President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[1] He is best known for the works during his tenure as a Public Works Department Minister in the state of Maharashta when he constructed a series of roads, highways and flyovers across the state including the Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai–Pune Expressway ^[2]

Background, family and education[link]

Nitin Gadkari was born in Nagpur, India, to a middle class family hailing from Nagpur district. During his teens, he worked for the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and the student union ABVP.

He started his political career as a grass-root worker who laid down red carpets prior to party programmes.^[3] He did his Ph.D., L.L.B and D.B.M. from Maharashtra, India.

Nitin Gadkari is married to Kanchan Gadkari and they have three children; Nikhil, Sarang and Ketki. He currently lives in Nagpur close to the head office of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.^[4]

Political career[link]

Nitin Gadkari served as the Minister of Public Works Department(pwd) of the Govt. of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and restructured it from top to bottom.^[5] He has served as the president of the Maharashtra BJP.^[6]

Support for privatization[link]

He showed strong support for privatization when he campaigned for investment in the infrastructure areas from private firms. He addressed several meetings between private investors, contractors, builders and various trade organizations and diverted large amounts of budgeted projects towards privatization. He managed to convince the state to allocate Rs. 700 Crores for rural connectivity. In the next 4 years, 98% of the total population of Maharashtra achieved an all-weather road connectivity. It also helped to solve the malnutrition problems prevailing in remote Melghat-Dharni area of Amravati district which previously had no access to medical aid, ration or educational facilities. The project aimed to connect 13,736 remote villages which remained unconnected since independence by road.^{[citation needed]}

Chairman of NRRDC[link]

The Union Government appointed him the Chairman of National Rural Road Development Committee. After a series of meetings and studies, Shri Gadkari submitted his report to the central government and gave the presentation to the Hon. Prime Minister of India. His new report was accepted and a new rural road connecting scheme now popularly known as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched. The ambitious scheme is of Rs. 60,000 crores.^[7][8]

Positions served[link]

• Ex Minister, Govt Of Maharashtra^[9]
• Chairman, Purti Group Of Companies^[10]
• President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra State^[11]
• Ex-Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council^[12]
• Former Minister for Public Works Department, Maharashtra State^[13]
• Member of Legislative Council, Maharashtra State^[14]
• Elected to the Maharashtra Govt. Legislative Council in 1989 from graduates constituency, Nagpur Region.^[15]
• Re-Elected in the year 1990.^[16]
• Re-Elected in the year 1996 and elected unopposed in 2002.^[17]
• Inducted in the Maharashtra State Government Cabinet as the Minister for Public Works on May 27, 1995.^[18]
• Ex-Member of the High Power Committee for Privatisation, Government of Maharashtra.^[19]
• Ex-Chairman, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, India.^[20]
• Ex-Guardian Minister for Nagpur District, Govt. of Maharashtra.^[21]
• Ex-Chairman, Mining policy Implementation Committee, Govt. of Maharashtra.^[22]
• Ex-Chairman, Metropolis Beautification Committee, Govt. of Maharashtra.^[23]
• Ex-Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council, Chairman National Rural Road Development Committee^[24]
• Chairman, Review Committee of CPWD, Govt. of India.^[25]
• State President of Bhartiya Janata Party, Maharashtra.^[26]

After a successful stint as PWD Minister, Gadkari took over as President of the Maharashtra State Unit of the BJP in 2004. In 2009, when the BJP National President Rajnath Singh's term ended in December, Gadkari succeeded him as the youngest ever President of BJP.^[27]

Industrial career[link]

Nitin Gadkari does not consider himself a career politician.^[28] He is known to control these establishments in the following way;

• Poly sack Industrial Society Ltd - Founder and Chairman.^{[citation needed]}
• Nikhil Furniture and Appliances Pvt. Ltd - Promoter and Director.^{[citation needed]}
• Antyodaya Trust - Founder and Member.^{[citation needed]}
• Empress Employees Co-operative Paper Mills Ltd - Founder and Chairman.^{[citation needed]}

Gadkari is also an agriculturist. He has not only promoted but also has major interests in the fields of Water Management, Solar Energy Projects and the use of modern tools in agriculture. Recently, he started exporting fruits to various countries under the banner Ketaki overseas Trading Company.^{[citation needed]}

Awards[link]

He has been honored with the Bombay Bhushan Award and has also been felicitated by various organizations in Mumbai.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

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