Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has been given independent charge as Minister of State, or MoS, in the law ministry and Kiren Rijiju has been given the Earth Sciences portfolio, according to a communication issued by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday morning.
Five points about India's new law minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal:
- Meghwal was born in Rajasthan's Bikaner on December 20, 1953, to a family of traditional weavers. He is married to Pana Devi and the couple has two sons and two daughters.
- A former civil service officer, Meghwal has a Bachelor's degree in Law, a Master's in Political Science in addition to an MBA degree. His alma maters include the University of The Philippines.
- He began his political career in 2009 when he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Bikaner in Rajasthan; he beat the Congress' Rewat Ram Panwar by nearly 20,000 votes.
- He has held the Bikaner seat for the Bharatiya Janata Party since then and has also served as the BJP's Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha.
- Earlier ministerial portfolios include MoS Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (2019-2021) and MoS Finance, Corporate Affairs (2016-2017) and MoS Water Resources (2016-2017).
{{/usCountry}}- Earlier ministerial portfolios include MoS Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (2019-2021) and MoS Finance, Corporate Affairs (2016-2017) and MoS Water Resources (2016-2017).
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