Union Minister Gadkari turns 63

R. Gurudas

New Delhi: Union Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari turns 63 today.The former National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was  born on 27th May 1957 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, as the son of Jairam Gadkari and Bhanutai Gadkari.  Mr. Gadkari entered politics through the All India Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Morcha.

From 1995 to 1999 he was the Minister of Public Works, thus  roads, highways and flyovers were built. During his tenure as the Chairman of the National Rural Road Development Committee,under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, launched a Rs. 600 billion project of  rural road connecting scheme-Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

He was the BJP president from 2010 to 2013 and the Cabinet Minister in the Modi government’s Ministry of Road Transport, National Highways, Micro, Small and Shipping. His contributions include India’s first six-lane concrete high-speed expressway, including the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, which has strongly advocated privatization, backed by investments in infrastructure from private firms were widely appreciated.