User:Arvind Kumar Sharma MLC

AK Sharma is a Member of Legislative Council in Uttar Pradesh. AK Sharma Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district in 1962, He belongs to an extended, rural and agrarian family of Eastern UP.AK Sharma did schooling from his home district before graduating from Allahabad University. He did masters in Political Science before joining the civil services in 1988. As an IAS office with the Gujarat cadre, his first posting was as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). In 1995, he took charge as district magistrate, Mehsana. In 2001, Sharma joined Modi’s chief minister’s office in Gujarat as a secretary and remained there till 2014 before shifting to the Centre.

A 1988 batch IAS officer, Sharma has been associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he became the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001. Sharma was secretary to the then Gujarat chief minister Modi and joined the prime minister’s office (PMO) as a joint secretary when Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014.

Those who have followed Sharma closely, say that he has also been a low-profile officer and a doer who became a go-to man for CM Modi. He is said to have coordinated the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’, a biennial investor summit that played a significant role in bringing in foreign investment to Gujarat. Sharma is also said to have played a key role in getting the Tata Nano plant moved from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat in 2008. His contribution in setting up the Gujarat section of dedicated freight corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor as well as Dholera special investment region is also highly talked about. He created on-line administrative processes which are internationally acclaimed.

He remained CM Modi’s secretary until 2014 when Modi became the Prime Minister. While he joined the PMO as a joint secretary in 2014, he was elevated to the additional secretary rank in 2017.

After his long stint in PMO, Sharma was, in May 2020, entrusted with the charge of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry, the sector affected badly due to pandemic. The ministry, headed by Nitin Gadkari, has been seen as crucial for the country’s economic revival in the aftermath of the pandemic.

He, however, sought retirement from the post of secretary in the ministry, one-and-a-half years before his due retirement. A few days later, he took a plunge into active politics from Uttar Pradesh, where Yogi Adityanath government faces elections in 2022. With the 18 years of association with Modi and the trust he enjoys, Sharma is known as “Modi’s Man” in the corridors of power.

His website is https://aksharmabharat.in/