Piyush Goyal: PM Narendra Modis most trusted lieutenant

Piyush Goyal to take up added responsibilities of the Finance Ministry, besides managing the railways and coal ministries. A look at his career graph

Finance topper to expert
Goyal, an all-India second rank holder chartered accountant and second-rank holder law graduate from Mumbai University, was a successful investment banker before entering politics. He also participated in the Leadership Programs at Yale University (2011), Oxford University (2012) and Princeton University (2013). At present, he is pursuing the Owner/President Management (OPM) Programs at Harvard Business School.

Political tryst
Goyal's father Ved Prakash Goyal was a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and his mother was a three-time MLA. But before entering the political arena, Goyal advised top corporates on management strategy and growth. He was also on the board of the State Bank of India and the Bank of Baroda.
He was an active member of the Indian Merchants Chamber's managing committee and was closely involved with NGOs working for tribal education and welfare, and the physically challenged.

Party person
Goyal has held crucial positions in the BJP in his 28-year-long political career, including as the treasurer and head of the BJP's Information Communication Campaign Committee.
Goyal was also a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence. He was nominated in the government's high profile Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers.
He also headed the party's Indian General Elections 2014 publicity and advertising campaign, and the highly successful social media outreach.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate from Maharashtra in 2016.

Mining talent
In 2014, he was given the charge of the coal ministry. The sector was in a mess after the Supreme Court had cancelled mining rights. Goyal successfully conducted auctions of the mines and helped the government earn Rs 3 lakh crore.

Power Play
He played a crucial role in taking the Modi government's ambitious 100 percent village electrification project to the remotest and inaccessible parts of the country. He should be credited for the rollout of power sector reforms (UDAY) and the success of the world's largest LED bulb distribution programme (UJALA) for energy efficiency. Under the scheme, consumers were provided three LED bulbs at a subsidised rate of Rs.25/- as against the market price of Rs 300-350.
He also helped the cash-strapped state power distribution companies to turn around.

On Track
Following a string of rail accidents, Goyal replaced Suresh Prabhu last September as the Railways minister. He started off with the safety aspect by replacing tracks and improving its efficiency through electrification.
He is also in the process of introducing reforms in the tendering process through a reverse e-auction system for all procurements and contracts.

Task ahead
Goyal has been Modi's go-to man on many occasions. As the finance minister, Goyal in the next few months will have to find ways to restore health of the banking sector, which is under tremendous pressure due to scandals and bad debts. Besides, he has to look into insolvency cases and reforms in GST regime.