Profiles of nine new faces in Modi's council of ministers

PM Modi has inducted nine new faces in his government - here are their profiles

New Delhi: Here are the brief profiles of nine new ministers who joined the Modi government in a Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday.

1. Hardeep Singh Puri: MoS Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge)

Puri had served in various capacities before joining the Modi government. He was the chairman of the UN's powerful counter-terrorism committee. He was also the permanent representative of India to the United Nations. He also served as the ambassador to Brazil and Britain. He graduated from Delhi University's Hindu College. As a student leader, he actively participated in the JP movement. He briefly taught at St. Stephens College before joining the IFS.

He held top positions at the think-tanks Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the International Peace Institute, New York.

2. Satya Pal Singh: MoS of Human Resource Development and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation ministries

Singh is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat seat and a member of the parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs. He was a IPS officer of the 1980 batch and was awarded the Antrik Suraksha Sewa Padak and a Special Service Medal for extraordinary work in the Maoist areas of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 1990. He served as the Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. He was also credited for helping dismantle organised crime syndicates in Mumbai in the 1990s. He has written books on various topics like tribal conflict resolution and Maoist violence.

3. Shiv Pratap Shukla: MoS Finance Ministry

Shukla is a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh and a member of the parliamentary standing committee on rural development. Elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly for four consecutive terms in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1996, he was a state cabinet minister for eight years and is known for his work in fields of rural development, education and prison reform. A law graduate from Gorakhpur University, Shukla started as a student leader in the 1970s. He was also a part of the movement against Emergency and was imprisoned for 19 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act.

4. Kannanthanam J. Alphons: MoS (Independent Charge) Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Alphons was a 1979 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre. Alphons became famous as Delhi's “Demolition Man” when he headed 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 Manimala village in Kerala's Kottayam district, he pioneered the literacy movement in India and as District Collector of Kottayam, he made it the first 100 percent literate town in India in 1989.

Kannanthanam had set up the NGO Janshakti in 1994 for social works. On retiring from IAS, he contested the Kerala assembly polls in 2006 to become an independent MLA from Kanjirappally. He was also a member of the committee to prepare the final draft of the National Education Policy 2017. He also authored the book "Making A Difference".

5. Raj Kumar Singh: MoS (Independent Charge) Ministry of Power, MoS (Independent Charge) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

64-year-old Singh is a former IAS officer of the 1975 batch Bihar cadre and a former union home secretary. He is a member of the Lok Sabha and represents Arrah in Bihar. He is a member of the parliamentary standing committees on health and family welfare, personnel, pensions and public grievances and law and justice. Singh studied English literature at St. Stephens College and is a law graduate. He also studied at the RVB Delft University in the Netherlands.

6. Virendra Kumar: MoS Ministry of Women and Child Development, MoS Ministry of Minority Affairs

Virendra Kumar is a six-term Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh. He is presently the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on labour, and has been chairman of the joint committee on office of profit and member of National Social Security Board. During his stint in parliament, he has been a member of the committees on labour and welfare, welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, privileges, petroleum and natural gas. He was also a part of the JP movement and went to jail for 16 months under MISA during the Emergency. Hailing from the scheduled caste community, Kumar is said to have worked for removing the caste and class barriers. He has also built orphanages, schools and old age homes. He holds a Masters degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Child Labour.

7. Anantkumar Hegde: MoS Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Hegde is a Lok Sabha MP from Karnataka's Uttara Kannada. He is a member of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs and human resource development. Elected as an MP for the first time at the age of 28, he has been a member of the lower house for five terms. He has been a member of multiple parliamentary standing committees and has also been a member of the Spices Board of India for four terms. He is the founder president of Kadamba, an NGO working in the field of rural development, health, SHGs, marketing and other welfare programmes. He is also a practitioner of Tae-kwon-do.

8. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: MoS Ministry of Agriculture

Shekhawat is a Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan's Jodhpur. He is member of the standing committee on finance and the chairperson of the fellowship committee. A tech-savvy farmer with a simple lifestyle, he is one of the most followed political leaders on social media. A sports enthusiast, Shekhawat has participated at the national inter-university basket ball tournaments. He is also the president of the Basketball India Players Association. He holds an MA degree and MPhil in Philosophy from Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur.

9. Ashwini Kumar Choubey: MoS Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

He is a Lok Sabha MP from Buxar in Bihar. Choubey is presently a member of the parliamentary committee on estimates and standing committee on energy. He is also a member of the Central Silk Board. Choubey was elected for five consecutive terms to the Bihar Assembly and has held important portfolios including Health, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering. Starting early in politics as the president of the students union of Patna University, Choubey actively participated in the JP movement in the 1970s and was taken into custody during the Emergency under MISA. Choubey is credited with the slogan "Ghar - Ghar me ho Shauchalaya ka nirman, Tabhi hoga Ladli Bitiya ka Kanyadaan" and has helped construct 11,000 toilets for Mahadalit families. He has also authored a book on the Uttarakhand floods of 2013 after facing the situation at Kedarnath with his family. Choubey is a Bachelors of Science in Zoology and has special interest in yoga.