Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India

A popular face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Venkaiah Naidu is the Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs in the newly - formed government. Not many might be aware of the fact that Naidu also authored a book titled 'Aluperugani Galam, Viraamamerugani Payanam'. The book is a compilation of his speeches and a guide for those who want to get into politics.

Being interested in politics since childhood, Naidu actively participated in 'Jai Andhra Movement' of 1972. His leadership skills boosted his political career and he won the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections twice in 1978 and 1983 from Udayagiri constituency. It is Naidu's oratory skills that make him stand apart from other members of his party. He used his tactics to get in contact with the top leaders of the party. It was these skills that helped him moving up the position in the party and finally to the Union cabinet. This is for the second time that he has become the cabinet minister. He served as Union minister for rural development in the ministry of Vajpayee Government. In 2002, he was appointed as the national President of the party.

After taking charge as the cabinet minister in 2014, Naidu said that his priority will be to ensure housing facilities for all by 2020. For this, the government will create smart cities and also reduce the interest on home loans.

During his tenure, he launched many reforms and schemes for the development of the rural classes. One such scheme was 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana'. He also tried to rope in multinational companies for the various projects related to rural development. To serve the poor and downtrodden of his hometown Nellore, Naidu initiated a social service organisation called 'Swarna Bharath Trust'. The trust provides education to the needy children. It also imparts employment training to women and the youth.