Raj Kumar Singh | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of Power and Minister of New and Renewable Energy | |
| In office 3 September 2017 – 11 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Piyush Goyal |
| Succeeded by | Manohar Lal Khattar |
| Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | |
| In office 31 May 2019 – 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Anantkumar Hegde |
| Succeeded by | Rajeev Chandrasekhar |
| Member of Parliament inLok Sabha | |
| In office 16 May 2014 – 4 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Meena Singh |
| Succeeded by | Sudama Prasad |
| Constituency | Arrah |
| Home Secretary ofIndia | |
| In office 30 June 2011 – 30 June 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | G.K. Pillai |
| Succeeded by | Anil Goswami |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-12-20)20 December 1952 (age 72) Supaul,Bihar, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Patna,Bihar, India New Delhi, India |
| Alma mater | St. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA) Magadh University (LLB) Delft University of Technology,Netherlands |
Raj Kumar Singh (born 20 December 1952) is a former Indian bureaucrat and formerUnion Cabinet Minister in theGovernment of India (2014 - 2024). He was theMember of the Indian Parliament forArrah,Bihar, from May 2014 to 4 June 2024. Singh is a 1975 batchBihar cadreIndian Administrative Service officer and formerHome Secretary of India.[1]
On 3 September 2017, he was appointed theMinister of Power (Independent Charge) in Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's cabinet.[2] On 30 May 2019, he was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) of theMinistry of Power, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of theMinistry of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State in theMinistry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship,Government of India.
On 7 July 2021, he was elevated to the rank ofCabinet minister.
Singh was born inSupaul in a GandhavariyaRajput family in Bihar.[citation needed] He gained aBachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree inEnglish Literature, anLL.B. and a diploma in Management. He was educated atSt. Stephen's College, Delhi,Magadh University andDelft University of Technology,Netherlands.
He was the district magistrate inEast Champaran andPatna in the 1980s before joining the state home department in 1997.[2]
On 30 October 1990, R.K. Singh, who was then posted as Registrar Cooperatives, Govt. of Bihar in Patna, was asked to arrest Advani in Samastipur,[3] while Advani'sRam Rath Yatra was en route toAyodhya in Uttar Pradesh fromSomnath in Gujarat. For this Mr. Singh was empowered through a special order by the then Chief MinisterLalu Prasad Yadav and sent on deputation to Samastipur as Additional Magistrate.[4] The arrest was made by order of theLalu Prasad Yadav government.[5] The complete operation was so secret that even the then DM and SP of Samastipur were not aware about the arrest plan.[3]
During theNitish Kumar government's first term (2004–2009), Singh, as principal secretary in the road construction department, played an important role in improving the condition of roads in Bihar.[6][7] In theNational Democratic Alliance-led government, the then Home Minister, Advani, selected Singh to work as joint secretary in the Home Ministry for five years from 1999 to 2004.[8] R.K. Singh wasUnion Home Secretary of India from 30 June 2011 to 30 June 2013, after that he retired from service.[9][10][11][12][13] In 2013, Singh was tipped to be adviser (infrastructure) in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, a post created through cabinet approval. However, he did not accept the assignment.[14]
Before his appointment as Union home Secretary, Union Defence MinisterA. K. Antony had picked Singh to head the department of defence production in 2009 in view of his clean reputation.[15][16] Singh was chosen by the then Union Home MinisterP. Chidambaram for his efficiency and no-nonsense attitude. Known to be a tough taskmaster, Chidambaram got along well with Singh at a professional level. However, Singh had several run-ins with Chidambaram's successor,Sushilkumar Shinde, who was not happy with the home secretary's handling of the situation following 16 December2012 Delhi gang rape.[17]
It was during the tenure of R.K. Singh as the Union home secretary that 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru were hanged.[18]
R.K. Singh after retirement also revealed Shinde's involvement in theIPL Spot-fixing[19] case and how Shinde had interfered in that investigation. Shinde also met the accused Shahid Balwa at his North Block office even after R.K. Singh's statements regarding Shinde's involvement in the IPL spot-fixing case.[20]
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There was speculation that Singh would contest from the Bihar constituencies of eitherArrah orSupaul in the2014 Lok Sabha polls, thoughRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh objected to him contesting from Supaul.[26] On 13 December 2013, Singh joined the BJP.[27][28] He contested the election as a BJP candidate in Arrah, beating his nearest rival, Sribhagwan Singh Kushwaha ofRJD by a margin of over 1,35,000 votes.[32]
In the2019 General Elections conducted for the formation of the17th Lok Sabha, he again contested fromArrah and retained his seat becoming the first MP from Arrah since Chandradeo Prasad Verma to retain his seat in successive elections. He defeated his nearest rival Raju Yadav ofCPI (ML) Liberation by 1,47,285 votes.[33]
On 3 September 2017, Mr. Singh was appointed Minister of Power (Independent Charge) and Minister of New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) byNarendra Modi. This post was previously held byPiyush Goyal.[2]
In May 2019, Singh was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) forPower andNew and Renewable Energy and Minister of State forSkill Development and Entrepreneurship.[34]
In the2024 Indian general election he lost his MP seat from Arrah, Bihar toCommunist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation candidateSudama Prasad by the margin of 59808 votes.[35]
He married Sheila Singh on 27 February 1975. They have a son and a daughter together.[36]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help){{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help){{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help){{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help)| Lok Sabha | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forArrah 2014 – Present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Power (Minister of State with Independent charge until 7 July 2021) 3 September 2017 – Present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of New and Renewable Energy (Minister of State with Independent charge until 7 July 2021) 3 September 2017 – Present | Incumbent |
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