Manoj Sinha, the new L-G of J&K: A hard taskmaster with a congenial style

Sinha has been credited with ensuring the completion of projects within set timelines during his time as Minister. Several people who know Sinha and have worked with him said, “He gets work delivered within the stipulated time, and has a very congenial style of working. He is always accessible to both officers and the public. He is a quick decision maker.”

In the first week of July 2016, when Sinha assumed the charge of the Telecom Ministry, the immediate task at hand was to achieve the target of BharatNet by connecting 1 lakh villages by broadband Internet by end of December 2017. He ensured that the target was achieved, delivering on a task that had been pending since 2014.

Manoj Sinha at Kal Bhairav temple in Varanasi. File/PTI Photo

Sinha also applied himself to dealing effectively with the menace of call drops. It was during his tenure that the much awaited India Post Payment Bank was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2018.

As MoS Railways, Sinha was assigned to look after the implementation of railway projects in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which he again delivered on time.

Sinha, 61, has a B. Tech in civil engineering from the Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi. Born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura in the district of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sinha did his schooling under the UP board of education before going to IT-BHU. At university, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP.

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After becoming a student leader, Sinha served as president of the students’ union at Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya during 1982-83. In 1989, he became a member of the national council of the BJP.

Sinha became an MP for the first time in the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996. He was then elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999, and served on the Standing Committee on Energy, and the Committee on Government Assurances.

In 2014, he was elected to Lok Sabha for a third term, and joined Modi’s Council of Ministers as MoS Railways. In July 2016, he was promoted to Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) rank, and was assigned charge of the Ministry of Communications.