Cabinet reshuffle: Shiv Pratap Shukla, from UP politics to North Block

A 4-time MLA in UP assembly, he has been appointed as one of the two ministers of state for finance

Shiv Pratap Shukla, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, was appointed as one of the two ministers of state for finance on Sunday in a major Cabinet reshuffle under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. A veteran politician and a law graduate, Shukla is known for his work on rural development, prison reforms and education during his tenure as a four-time member of legislative Assembly in UP. He served four consecutive terms as an MLA — 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1996. As a state minister, he initiated the “education for all” scheme that tied together 10 districts for the first time. 
 

He also carried out efforts to reform conditions for prisoners, besides revamping several rural development schemes. The 65-year old till Sunday was also the vice-president of UP unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Shukla will now report to Finance Miniser Arun Jaitley in North Block amid challenging times of falling economic growth and goods and services tax implementation.