Who is YS Chowdary, Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Science?

New Delhi, Nov 10: Popularly known as Sujana Chowdary, YS Chowdary was an industrialist by profession and reportedly the richest in the Cabinet with Rs 190 crores asset. He has been elected the Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Science.

Founder and Chairman of the Sujana Group of Industries, he belongs to the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and belongs to the powerful Kamma community. Considered very close to the Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, he was also Naidu's first choice when PM Narendra Modi asked him to nominate a person from his party for a cabinet berth.

Born in 1961, he earned his Masters in Engineering before spearheading the Sujana Group of companies. He also belongs to a family of government officers.

Sujana's relationship with the TDP dates back in 1995 when Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh. He was considered the main fundraiser for the party and was awarded the ticket in 2010.

Following this, he served a number of important portfolios not only at the state-level, but also at the national level. He was one of the strongest leaders in TDP and was a major force against the division of Andhra Pradesh. He drew the attention of the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the state reorganisation bill.

Later, he was also appointed the head of the resources management committee for pooling financial resources for the state after its bifurcation. He also gained prominence as a part of the panel to advise government on the development of new state capital.

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