Pawan Kumar Bansal (born 16 July 1948) is an
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
politician, appointed interim treasurer in November 2020 and a former minister in the
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
government. He represented
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
constituency in the
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...
(2009-2014) of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He served as
Minister of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...
from 28 October 2012 to 10 May 2013.
Early life
Bansal was born on 16 July 1948 in
Sunam
Sunam Udham Singh Wala is a town and a tehsil, near city of Sangrur in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. The city of Sunam Udham Singh Wala, which falls in Sunam Udham Singh Wala tehsil, was previously known only as Sunam. The ...
. His family hailed from
Tapa
Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to:
Media
*Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic
* ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film
* ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film
* ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...
, Punjab. He went to school at the Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, and did BSc from the
Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh
Post Graduate Government College Co-ed, Sector 11, (PGGC-11) is a constituent college of the Panjab University located in Sector 11, Chandigarh. It is as old as Chandigarh.
History
The college was started on May 26, 1953 from a building in Secto ...
. He also holds an LLB degree from the Department of Law,
Panjab University, Chandigarh
Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...
.
Career
Bansal has represented
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
as a member of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in the
10th
10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...
,
13th
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
,
14th
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15.
In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a s ...
and
15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
Lok Sabha. He has worked as the
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the
Minister of Water Resources in the
Second Manmohan Singh ministry
The Second ministry of Manmohan Singh came into existence after the general election in 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009 and led to the formation of the 15th Lok Sabha. Manmohan Singh took the oath as the 13th ...
. He also held the charge of the
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
for
Finance
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
and
Parliamentary Affairs in the
First Manmohan Singh Cabinet
The First Ministry of Manmohan Singh was the first Union Council of Ministers of India under the Prime Ministership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April - 10 May 2004, to ...
.
Railway Minister
He took over as the
Railway Minister, becoming the first from his
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
since 1996. Soon after becoming Railways minister, he approved an increase in fares, which had been unchanged for the last 15 years, to allow the Indian Railways to be profitable. He contested the 2014
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
Elections from
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
.
Railway Budget 2013
The 2013
Railway Budget focused on improving the condition of Indian Railways. Pawan Bansal came up with first ever rail link to connect
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
. Internet ticketing from 0030 hours to 2330 hours as well as E-ticketing through mobile phones was made available. Four companies of women RPF personnel set up and another 8 to be set up to strengthen the security of rail passengers, especially women passengers.
Railways
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
has identified 104 stations for upgradation in cities with more than one million population and of religious significance. This means, these stations the Railways will give attention to all aspects related to cleanliness, according to the Budget highlights the government released. 179 escalators and 400 lifts at A-1 and other major stations to be installed facilitating elderly and differently-able.
Personal life
He is married to Madhu Bansal. They have two sons.
Incident of corruption charges
On 3 May 2013, the
CBI arrested his nephew, Vijay Singla, after they caught an aide counting two bags of cash. After the scam came to light in May, the CBI interrogated Pawan Kumar Bansal, Congress MP from Chandigarh, for ten hours, but failed to find substantial evidence to nail him. In his statement, Bansal denied having any knowledge of his nephew's activities.
CBI does not have any tapped conversation which shows that former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was involved in or had any knowledge of the Rs 10 crore cash for post bribery scandal, which prompted the agency not to make him an accused in the case, sources said here today.
The CBI said that Mr Bansal will serve as prosecution witness. The judge has responded. "If the CBI has chosen to make Mr Bansal a witness, then at this juncture, there being no evidence against him, the court cannot pass any order or question him, except during the trial."
[http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/NAT-TOP-pawan-bansal-is-not-off-the-hook-judge-slams-cbi-clean-chit-to-former-railway-mi-4325064-NOR.html]
References
External links
Railway Ministers of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bansal, Pawan Kumar
1948 births
Living people
Indian National Congress politicians
People from Sangrur district
People from Sangrur
India MPs 2004–2009
Union ministers of state of India
Members of the Cabinet of India
India MPs 1991–1996
India MPs 1999–2004
India MPs 2009–2014
Lok Sabha members from Chandigarh
United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election