A. K. Sharma Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Arvind Kumar Sharma [1]The Hindu
Profession(s)	IAS officer, Politician
Indian Administrative Service
Positions Held	• Assistant Collector (From 1 August 1989 – 1 August 1992) • Additional Registrar – Cooperatives / Agriculture & Cooperation (From 1 August 1989 – 1 February 1993) • District Development Officer, Vadodara (From 1 February 1993 – 1 April 1995) • Commissioner, Mehsana (1 April 1995- 1 May 1997) • Joint M D – Mines / Mines & Minerals (From 1 May 1997 – 1 July 1997) • District Collector, Kheda (From 1 July 1997 – 1 June 1998) • Deputy Secretary, Gandhinagar (From 1 June 1998- 1 April 1999) • Joint Commissioner, Vadodara – Rehabilitation / Home (From 1 April 1999 – 1 June 2001) • Additional Commissioner- Industries (From 1 June 2001- 1 October 2001) • Secretary to Chief Minister, General Administration, (From 1 October 2001 – 13 February 2004) • Secretary to Chief Minister, Personnel management, (From 14 February 2004 – 2 January 2006) • N.A. Joint Secretary (From 4 January 2006 – 13 November 2006) • Secretary to Chief Minister (From 14 November 2006 – 17 April 2013) • Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister (From 17 April 2013 – 30 May 2014) • Joint Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office (From 3 June 2014 – 22 July 2017) • Additional Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office (From 22 July 2017 – 30 April 2020) • Secretary – Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, New Delhi (30 April 2020- 11 November 2021)
On-the-Job Training	• Attended the 12th Round of Mid Career Training Programme Phase V 2018 for IAS officers (4 June 2018 - 22 June 2018) • Attended Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati, for three weeks (1995-1996) • Received Management of Information Technology training at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, for one week (1999-2000) • Completed Master of Public Policy (MPP) Course with merit from Australian National University (ANU) Canberra, Australia (2006)
Politics
Political Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Political Journey	• Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh e a member of the legislative council (MLC) in January 2021 • Appointed the vice president of the UP BJP in June 2021
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Awarded the title of BEST DDO in 1993-94 by the Government of Gujarat • Awarded a certificate of honour for his contribution to the cause of Human Resettlement and Rehabilitation associated with Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Water Resources Project by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 July 1962 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2022)	60 Years
Birthplace	Kajha Khurd, District-Mau, Uttar Pradesh
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Kajha Khurd, District-Mau, Uttar Pradesh
School	After attending local schools, one in his village and another in a nearby village called Khurhat, he acquired his middle school education in Rasra, Ballia district. Later, Sharma enrolled in DAV Inter College, Mau, where he pursued his intermediate studies in the science stream, passing his 10th & 12th from UP Board.
College/University	University of Allahabad
Educational Qualification(s) [2]A K Sharma	• BA in Political Science, Philosophy & Economics • MA in Political Science
Religion/Religious Views	Born into born into a religious family, Sharma grew up worshipping various Hindu deities like Brahma Baba, Saiyed Baba, Banjaari Mai, Deeh Baba, Kali Maa, Deiya Mai, and Shiva. During his childhood, his father used to chant Rudrashtakam, a Sanskrit composition in the devotion of Rudra composed by the Hindu Bhakti poet Tulsidas. His mother was a strong adherent of Lord Surya and worshipped him by offering water to the sun every morning. While growing up, Sharma used to listen to Ram Charit Manas (a religious narrative by Tulsidas) and the holy narratives of Hindu deity Satya Narayan and [3]A K Sharma
Controversy	In September 2018, Rahul Gandhi, an Indian politician and president of the Indian National Congress, posted a sarcastic tweet targeting A. K. Sharma, accusing of weakening the lookout notice of fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya in 2015. A wilful defaulter, Vijay Mallya fled the country on 2 March 2016 after being charged for fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated Rs. 9,000 crore. Rahul Gandhi took a dig at A. K. Sharma who was then heading the CBI investigation of PNB fraud case of Rs, 11,400 crores that involved businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. [4]Hindustan Times
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	March, 1987
Family
Wife/Spouse	Kiran Sharma
Children	Son- Abhinav Sharma Daughter- Chitra Sharma
Parents	Father- Shri Shivmurti Sharma (former senior incharge of Mau roadways bus station) Mother- Shrimati Shanti Sharma (homemaker)
Siblings	A. K. Sharma has three brothers. He is the eldest sibling.
Favourites
Writer	Firaq Gorakhpuri
Singer	Jagjit Singh, Chitra Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About A. K. Sharma

• A K Sharma is an Indian politician, former IAS officer, and Bureaucrat, who became the State Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh in 2021.

• Growing up in a remote village, Sharma spent his childhood undertaking chores like, cleaning the house front, feeding the cattle, clearing out the semi-pucca drainage system, and regulating seasonal harvest.

• Sharma grew up watching his father working towards the development of their village by setting up the first tube well in the village. His father also contributed to establishing a secondary school in the name of Pundit Alagoo Rai Shashtri in the village.

• He actively participated in various extra curriculum activities during his college days like composing and reciting poetry and ghazals and participating in stage dramas, skits, and short plays.

• After completing his master’s, he was admitted to the UGC fellowship as a Research fellow (D. Phil), meanwhile, he started preparing for UPSC. Simultaneously, he pursued a job as a lecturer in the department of Political science at the University of Allahabad.

• After working as a traffic inspector in UP Roadways, Sharma’s father retired as a senior incharge of Mau roadways bus station and died in 1999. In an interview, Sharma talked about his father’s job and said,
  

  My father being in the service of UP Road Transport, I spent a lot of my childhood living at two Bus Stations (Rasra & Mau)…So, I owe a lot to that eco-system comprising of the chaiwalas, halwais, drivers, conductors, porters, and staff members who were an integral part of my daily life. This phase of my life lasted from class six to twelfth.”

• A. K. Sharma’s son, Abhinav Sharma, was born on the day on which his UPSC results were declared. His daughter, Chitra Sharma, got married in a family living in Kashi, Varanasi.

• Sharma became a civil servant in 1988 after two failed attempts in the UPSC examination.  He began his career as an IAS officer with the Gujarat cadre. In 1989, he held the position of  Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Palitana in Bhavnagar District.

• A. K. Sharma’s association with Narendra Modi began in 2001 when Modi was elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Sharma was one of the officers posted to the CM’s office. After serving as secretary to the CM, Sharma was elevated to the position of additional principal secretary to the chief minister.

• Other prominent positions at which he served the Government of Gujarat include Deputy Secretary Finance Department, incharge of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, and MD of iNDEXTb.

• He was also the in-charge of Investment Promotion & Investor Facilitation from 2001 to 2006 in Gujarat.

• In 2008, Sharma played a pivotal role in the relocation of the Tata Nano plant from Singur, West Bengal, to Sanand, Gujarat.

• Sharma played an important part in organising Vibrant Gujarat summits, a biennial event to attract foreign investment that was conceptualized in 2003 under the supervision of Narendra Modi.

• A trusted bureaucrat of Narendra Modi, Sharma regularly interacted with various foreign dignitaries.
  

  Narendra Modi and A. K. Sharma meeting the delegation from German multinational chemical company BASF

  In February 2014, when Narendra Modi was a BJP prime ministerial nominee, Sharma played a key role in bringing then-US ambassador Nancy Powell to Gandhinagar, Gujarat, where the US envoy and Modi discussed the importance of the US-India relationship, regional security issues, human rights, and American trade and investment in India.

• When Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India in 2014, Sharma joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as a joint secretary.

• In Gujarat, while he was serving as CEO of Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB), Sharma earned the reputation of an infrastructure expert, which made him the suitable person to assume the position of secretary of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in 2020, a key area that Modi wanted to focus on to make India self-reliant.

• A. K. Sharma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh as a member of the legislative council (MLC) in January 2021 after he took voluntary retirement from civil services 18 months prior to his due retirement.
  

  Arvind Kumar Sharma joining BJP in the presence of Swatantra Dev Singh and Dinesh Sharma at BJP’s office, in Lucknow, on 14 January 2021

• Amid the Covid surge in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, when the state was struggling to contain the pandemic Sharma was named ‘Covid Prabhari’ for the district. Thereafter, he regulated Covid-19 relief work in the district supervised by supervising the setting up of a DRDO hospital and a tele-consultancy app and ensuring the functioning of the Command and Control Centre. He helped Varanasi cut Covid cases from 1,000+ to under 300.

• Sharma’s work as Covid Prabhari was immensely appreciated by PM Modi who urged other states to follow the Varanasi Model of Covid Management.

• A. K. Sharma was appointed the vice president of the UP BJP in June 2021.

• The event sparked rumours that Sharma might be appointed deputy chief minister in the state government in the cabinet reshuffle ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. The speculations led to a cold war between the UP CM Yogi Adityanath, and PM Narendra Modi. ^[5]Hindustan Times

• For immediate addressal of public problems, Sharma developed an application called ‘TEJ,’ an interactive web portal.