Agencies, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister-designate Kamal Nath is a nine-time parliamentarian and represents the state’s Chhindwara in the Lower House; his special interests being development of tribal folk and oppressed classes, wildlife, horticulture and socioeconomic issues.
He enunciated global concepts on Environmental Tariffs and conceptualised Global Emission Quotas; Mr Nath was chief spokesman for the developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
His firm grasp of economic issues and consummate diplomatic skills were evident in the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, where he emerged as one of the chief architects of the G-20 and G-33 Alliances and the Non-Agricultural Market Access-11. The WTO Ministerial Meeting at Hong Kong in 2005 was marked by his championing the cause of developing countries, official sources said.
Mr Nath authored the books ‘India’s Environmental Concerns’, ‘India’s Century’ and ‘Bharat Ki Shatabdi’.He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980, re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. From 1991-95 he was Minister of State (Environment and Forests) and from 1995-96 MoS (Textiles).
In the 1998-99 period; he served as Member, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals; Member, Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Power.
In 1999-2000, he was Member, Standing Committee on Finance; in 2000-04 he was Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Mines and Minerals.
From May 23, 2004 to 2009 he was Commerce and Industry Minister; from 2009 to January 18, 2011 Road Transport and Highways Minister; from January 19, 2011 to May 26, 2014 Urban Development Minister and from October 28, 2012 to May 26, 2014 Parliamentary Affairs Minister. From September 1, 2014 he is Member, Standing Committee on Commerce and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs.
During his tenure as MoS (Environment and Forests), he made a remarkable contribution to the enunciation and development of the National Policy on Ecological Conservation and the Abatement of Pollution; his policy initiatives include establishment of the Environment Tribunal, the concept of Environment Audit, special measures for the further protection and conservation of fauna as well as flora and the establishment of Environment Brigades and Afforestation Brigades (the afforestation and development of degraded wastelands was taken up on a massive scale under his stewardship).
While he was MoS (Textiles), the country touched new heights in production and export of cotton – the New Textile Policy was successfully launched. As Commerce and Industry Minister, he enunciated India’s first comprehensive Foreign Trade Policy in 2004, laying out a coherent roadmap with twin focus on exports as well as employment.
He was successful in tripling foreign trade within this period and engineering a seven-fold increase in Foreign Direct Investment inflow. Significant strides were made in the areas of intellectual property and industrial design.
The Special Economic Zones Act was enacted at his initiative. Mr Nath entered Congress ranks in 1968; from 2001 to 2004 he was Congress General Secretary and was Member, Congress Working Committee from September 2002-July 2004.
Hailing from Chhindwara District’s Shikarpur village, he was born to Mr Mahendra Nath (since deceased) and Mrs Leela Nath on November 18, 1946 in Kanpur. He was married on January 27, 1973 and his spouse is Mrs Alka. The couple have two sons. Mr Nath is a commerce graduate from St Xavier’s College in the West Bengal capital. His favourite pastime is listening to music.