A. K. Sharma

Arvind Kumar Sharma (born 11 July 1962) is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and bureaucrat of 1988 batch. He is currently a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh. Before joining politics, Sharma was an IAS officer from Gujarat Cadre of the 1988 batch. Sharma was an aide of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, with whom he had worked for 20 years. He was also CEO, Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board and has also managed multiple Vibrant Gujarat summits. He joined the Prime Minister's Office as a Joint Secretary in 2014 and was elevated to the Additional Secretary rank in 2017. In 2019, he moved out of the PMO to become a secretary in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises but took voluntary retirement in January 2021.

Early life and education

Arvind Kumar Sharma was born in Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district to Shri Shivmurti Sharma and Shrimati Sharma. He completed schooling from his home district before graduating from Allahabad University. He pursued a master's degree in political science before joining the civil services.

Work in Gujarat

In 1988, Sharma became a civil servant and started his career as an IAS officer with the Gujarat cadre. His first posting was as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). In 1995, he took charge as the District Magistrate of Mehsana. After Narendra Modi came to power in Gujarat in 2001, Sharma joined the Chief Minister’s Office as a Secretary and remained there till 2014 before shifting to the Centre. Sharma worked in the Government of Gujarat as District Development Officer in Vadodara, Managing Director of Industrial Extension Bureau, and the CEO of Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB). He set up the Gujarat section of the dedicated freight corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor as well as Dholera Special Investment Region.

Work in PMO

Arvind Kumar Sharma remained as Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office till 2014 when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. He then joined the PMO as a Joint Secretary in 2014 and was elevated to the Additional Secretary rank in 2017. After his long stint in the PMO, Sharma was entrusted with the charge of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry.

Voluntary retirement and entry into politics

Arvind Kumar Sharma sought retirement in January 2021 from civil services, 18 months before his due retirement. A few days after his voluntary retirement, Sharma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh.

In 2021 he worked on the COVID-19 epidemic in Varanasi, during which COVID cases in the city were reduced from over 1,000 to under 300. Sharma offered 53,000 medical kits and other aid to manage CSR funds. He also supported other functionaries of BJP to in COVID mitigation work, and helped authorities to disseminate alternative medicine in the most affected areas. He also led the establishment of the Kashi COVID response center.

He is currently a cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh.

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