4 from Odisha in the list of ‘100 Most Powerful Indians’

Popular daily The Indian Express released a list of ‘100 Most Powerful Indians’ in which 4 from Odisha got placed. They are Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Additional Principal Secretary to PM Pramod Kumar Mishra.

Ranked 14th in the list, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is the poster boy of the BJP in Odisha. He continues to hold the Petroleum and Natural Gas portfolio in the Narendra Modi government. He has also been assigned the charge of Union Steel Minister.

Odisha-born bureaucrat Pramod Kumar Mishra, who took charge as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month, has been placed at 19th position in the list. Mishra served as Principal Secretary to Modi between 2001 and 2004 during the latter’s tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, for which he is considered as one of the key aides of Modi.

Shaktikanta Das, who hails from Bhubaneswar, who took charge as RBI Governor in December 2018, has been placed at 29th position in the list. At a time when the country’s economy is hit by the slowdown, Das has been instrumental in making key decisions to revive the economy. The merger of banks is said to be one of the decisions in this regard.

Naveen Patnaik, a five-time Odisha CM, has been ranked 39th in the list. The BJD supremo steered the party towards a mammoth victory in the Assembly Elections in the state. He has been retaining the position of Odisha Chief Minister since 2000 and never lost an election in his career.

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