Railways portfolio big challenge for Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal on Sunday replaced Suresh Prabhu to take charge of Railway Ministry, possibly taking the most challenging ministry in light of several derailments in the recent past. This is a big challenge for Goyal.

The now former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had been receiving flak from all sides for the successive rail derailments thus cementing his resignation from the ministry.

Prabhu had offered to quit on August 23, taking moral responsibility for two train derailments in the span of four days. He has now been appointed the Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Earlier today, he congratulated Piyush Goyal, and thanked the "Rail family" for their support.

As Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy, Goyal is said to have done commendable work in power and coal sector which has earned him the crisis-ridden Ministry of Railway. His appointment comes as fresh hope for Indian railways.

He is the son of Late Shri Ved Prakash Goyal who had served as a Union Minister for shipping in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet and was also in Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for a long time.

Goyal was a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence. An active member of the Managing Committee of Indian Merchants Chamber, he is also involved with NGOs in diverse fields such as tribal education and welfare of the physically challenged (Jaipur Foot).

During his 28-year-long political career, he has served on the National Executive and held several important positions in the BJP. He was also nominated by the Government of India to the Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers. He was the Dy. Campaign In-charge for the Parliament elections in 1991 and played a key role at the central level in all elections since 2004.

He represents Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha.