Dinesh Gundu Rao | |
|---|---|
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| Cabinet Minister,Government of Karnataka | |
| Assumed office 27 May 2023 | |
| Governor | Thawarchand Gehlot |
| Cabinet | Second Siddaramaiah ministry |
| Chief Minister | Siddaramaiah |
| Ministry and Departments | Health & Family Welfare |
| Preceded by | K.Sudhakar |
| In office 20 May 2015 – 21 June 2016 | |
| Governor | Vajubhai Vala |
| Cabinet | First Siddaramaiah ministry |
| Chief Minister | Siddaramaiah |
| Ministry and Departments |
|
| Preceded by | D. N. Jeevaraj |
| Succeeded by | U. T. Khader |
| Member ofKarnataka Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 25 October 1999 | |
| Preceded by | B. Muniyappa |
| Constituency | Gandhi Nagar |
| Incharge of AICC forPuducherry andTamil Nadu | |
| In office 11 September 2020 – 24 December 2023 | |
| President | Mallikarjun Kharge |
| Succeeded by | Ajoy Kumar |
| President ofKarnataka Pradesh Congress Committee | |
| In office 4 July 2018 – 11 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | G. Parameshwara |
| Succeeded by | D. K. Shivakumar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-10-09)9 October 1969 (age 56) Kushalanagar,Mysore State, India |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse | Tabassum Rao |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Bishop Cotton Boys School,B.M.S. College of Engineering |
Dinesh Gundu Rao (born 9 October 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the minister of health and family welfare since May 2023 in thegovernment of Karnataka. He has previously held food and civil supplies, and consumer affairs portfolios, between 2015 and 2016. A member of theIndian National Congress, he served as president of its Karnataka unit, theKarnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, between 2018 and 2020. Rao has representedGandhi Nagar in theKarnataka Legislative Assembly since 1999. He is the son of former Chief Minister of KarnatakaR. Gundu Rao.
Rao was born in aHindu family[1][2][3] inKushalanagar, a town inMysore State'sKodagu district (nowKarnataka). He is the second of the three sons of former Chief Minister of Karnataka,R. Gundu Rao.[4] His mother Varalakshmi (died 2019),[5] older brother Mahesh and Rajesh both had stints in politics.[6] Dinesh attended theBishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore before securing an engineering degree in electronics and communications fromB.M.S. College of Engineering in 1992.[7] He married Tabassum in aninterfaith marriage in 1994,[8] and has two daughters with her: Ananya and Amira.[9]
Rao was the Congress candidate for Assembly Constituency (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike District) in the 1999 Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections. The count of total votes polled for this election was 61,212. Out of these, Rao of Congress secured 40,797 votes to win the seat, defeating the nearest rival Nagaraj V of JD (S) by a margin of 28268 votes.
He was president of the Karnataka Youth Congress, and is currently aMember of the Legislative Assembly for sixth time (MLA).[10]
He is six time winner in the Karnataka elections.[11] Dinesh Gundu Rao was minister of state for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs in the government of Karnataka, and he was President of the KPCC.[12] Following his party's poor showing at the2019 by-elections, he resigned from the position.[13] In September 2020, he was appointedAll India Congress Committee in-charge ofGoa,Puducherry andTamil Nadu. On 4 January 2023,Manickam Tagore succeeded him as AICC incharge ofGoa.
Rao took oath as a minister on 27 May 2023. He was handed the health and family welfare portfolio two days later.[14] One of Rao's first acts was to review the condition of state-run dialysis centres in the State and the process in which tenders were given. He felt that prices were high and directed for a fresh tender to be rolled out and that "[s]hortage of nephrologists in these centres will also be addressed."[15] A few months later, he stated that more than 3,000 doctors would be recruited to address their shortage in government-run hospitals.[16] In May 2025, a pay revision of 20 to 55 percent depending on the post under theNational Health Mission was approved. It included medical officers, specialist doctors, and staff nurses working in Special Newborn Care Units andIntensive care units.[17]
In September 2023, intending to strengthen the public healthcare system in Karnataka, amemorandum of understanding was signed by the department of health with Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech innovation hub. Rao stated that improved diagnostics and screening were two areas that the government prioritized "as a means to boost health outcomes".[18] Later that year, a mobileclinic named Wellness on Wheels was initiated by the department. It was the product of a partnership betweenVolvo andNarayana Health. Rao stated that the clinic would travel across the state, including rural areas andslums, makinghealthcare accessible to all, and that the services offered would beecho,X-ray,ultrasound andmammogram, free of cost.[19]
An increasing trend offemale foeticide was seen in the early tenure of Rao. It was reported that sex ratio in the State fell from 947 to 929 in 2023. Addressing the issue in the assembly, Rao spoke of "rising cases of female foeticide that thrive in the state through organised rackets comprising doctors, lab technicians, nurses and hospital managements." He also stated that there had been an increase insex determination practices in the State, which is illegal in India.[20] He added that aCID probe had been ordered to investigate it.[21]
In February 2024, the government passed the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Bill, 2024, raising the age limit of sale of cigarettes from 18 years to 21 years. While presenting the Bill before the House, Rao added that other provisions included "...cigarettes cannot be sold within 100 meters of schools" and a penalty of₹1,000 was imposed in cases of violation.[22] The sale of both tobacco and non-tobaccohookah at public places was also banned.[23] In May that year, Rao announced a ban on food color added on street food such asGobi Manchurian, after random samples were tested to containRhodamine B, a cancer-causing agent that is found in industrialdyes.[24] In September. he wrote to the Prime Minister urging the 18 percentGoods and Services Tax (GST) onhealth insurance be abolished. He wrote, "A GST so high on what is an essential service/necessity, especially in a post pandemic world, is draconian to say the least and definitely not what a welfare state should be doing."[25]
However, in the Congress the Speaker, Revenue Minister, KPCC President are all from Brahmin community. What more a party needs to do, he asked.
"It is no secret that I was born a Muslim and my husband Dinesh Gundu Rao, a Brahmin. We have been happily married for over two decades now," she said in a Facebook post.
Karnataka leaders, however, pointed that in terms of caste, Gundu Rao, a brahmin, would not bring much votes to the party.