 "Modi cabinet 2.0: Harsimrat Badal, the voice from Punjab that matters")
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the only member from the Shiromani Akali Dal to find a place in this Cabinet, has retained the portfolio of food processing ministry. She wants to carry on with the efforts of liberalising the food sector. While the Modi government has kept FDI out of the multi-brand retail sector to protect the interest of domestic traders, Harsimrat managed to open up the food segment to overseas investors.
Coming from a political family (wife of former deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal and sister of Bikram Singh Majitha), Harsimrat, 52, knows how to be heard. Starting her political career with the 2009 election, she has spoken in Parliament on subjects ranging from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to food adulteration. She managed to make a point in the middle of the Maggi controversy three years ago, by backing Nestle and speaking out against regulator FSSAI.
Coming from a political family (wife of former deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal and sister of Bikram Singh Majitha), Harsimrat, 52, knows how to be heard. Starting her political career with the 2009 election, she has spoken in Parliament on subjects ranging from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to food adulteration. She managed to make a point in the middle of the Maggi controversy three years ago, by backing Nestle and speaking out against regulator FSSAI.
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