Cabinet Reshuffle: Who is Narayan Tatu Rane, the new MSME minister?

In the major Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Narayan Tatu Rane took oath as the new Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), which was previously held by Nitin Gadkari.

Narayan Tatu Rane was the 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1999. In 2000, he was appointed Minister of Industry, Port & Employment, Maharashtra.

Rane has been a part of various parties, and launched his own party as well, to serve the public in his career spanning 35 years.

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Before he joined the Congress, he was a part of Shiv Sena. Rane started his political career with Shiv Sena when he was in his early twenties. He was a local Shakha Pramukh in Chembur, Mumbai.

In his long political career, he has been a six-term MLA and one-time MLC in Maharashtra.

In 2017, Rane left Congress and launched his political party ‘Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha’.

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However, in 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and merged his party into BJP. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2018 when he first showed his support for the saffron party.

Previously, Rane worked in the Income Tax department from 1971 to 1984.