Hon'ble Minister of Textiles - Smt. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI

Hon’ble Minister of Textiles, SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI  - MP (Rajya Sabha) from Gujarat 

Born on 23rd March 1976, Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani is the youngest woman ever to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. Representing the State of Gujarat, Mrs. Irani, is currently the Union Minister for Textiles. She was the Union Minister for Human Resource Development from May 2014 to July 2016. She is India’s youngest minister in the government and the first woman to hold office as Union Minister For Human Resource Development and as Union Minister of Textiles.

She has previously served in the organization of various posts such as National Secretary (twice), 5 term Member of the BJP National Executive, Vice President of BJP Maharashtra Youth Wing, BJP Maharashtra State Secretary, National Vice President and as National President of BJP Women’s Wing has significantly and successfully pursued Permanent Commission for Women in the Indian Army by facilitating legal aid to women officers. She has also launched ‘Saksham’- the 1st ever Vision Document released by any political organization in India, which underlines policies, programs and implementation tools for the upliftment of the Differently Abled in India. In the 126th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union, Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani was unanimously elected as a Member representing the Asia Pacific Region to the Task Force responsible for establishing the 1st ever Committee for Young Parliamentarians in the IPU. At the same Assembly, Mrs. Irani was also unanimously elected by Member Nations as Rapporteur for the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade. The World Economic Forum has named Mrs. Irani as the Young Global Leader from India for the year 2015.

Actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani is the current Union minister for Textiles. As an actress she came under the lime light while playing the lead role in Ekta Kapoor's television serial 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. In 2003 she joined Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and became the National Secretary in 2010. Irani was appointed Rajya Sabha Member in 2011 and became BJP vice president the following year. She was also the chief of BJP's women's wing.

Smriti Irani contested the 2014 general elections against Rahul Gandhi, from the Gandhi family pocket borough Amethi, but lost. After the BJP came to power at the Centre, she was made the Union HRD minister - a tenure which was marred by controversies, most notably the Rohith Vemula suicide and questions over her degree.

In 2016, after a cabinet reshuffle, she was shifted to the Textiles ministry.