Kanishka Narayan Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Known for	Being appointed as UK's first Minister for Artificial Intelligence (July 2026)
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Light Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Labour Party
Political Journey	• In 2022: Joined politics as the Labour Party candidate • In 2023: Selected as the Labour Party candidate for Vale of Glamorgan • In July 2024: Elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Vale of Glamorgan in the UK General election • In July 2024: Appointed as Parliamentary Under- Secretary of Stata at the Department of Business and Trade • In September 2025: Appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety • In July 2026: Promoted to the Cabinet-level role of Minister for Artificial Intelligence
Personal Life
Date of Birth	30 November, 1989
Age (as of 2025)	36 Years
Birthplace	Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
Zodiac sign	Sagittarius
Nationality	British
Hometown	Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, UK
School	Cathays High School, Cardiff
College/University	• Eton College, Berkshire • Balliol College, Oxford University • Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Educational Qualification(s)	• A bachelor's degree in Philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) from Balliol College • A Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Religion	Hinduism
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • YouTube • Twitter • LinkedIn
Family
Parents	Father- Santosh Kumar Mother- Chetna Sinha
Siblings	Brother- Gautam Sister- None

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kanishka Narayan

• Kanishka Narayan was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India.

• In an interview, Narayan mentioned that India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was his maternal great grandmother’s uncle.

• When Kanishka was two years old, his family moved to New Delhi.

• In 2001, at the age of 12, he moved to Cardiff, Wales with his parents and brother. In an interview, Narayan mentioned that initially he lived in a modest household, where he used to sleep on the floor of his one-bedroom home off City Road.

• In 2002, he won a scholarship to study at Eton College, one of the UK’s most prestigious schools. Most of Narayan’s education was funded through a bursary, a non-repayable financial grant awarded to students to help cover educational expenses.

• In an interview, Kanishka revealed that he originally wanted to become a doctor or an engineer before developing a strong interest in politics and philosophy.

• In 2007, at the age of 18, he joined the Labour Party.

• While studying at Balliol College, Oxford, he spent his summer breaks working on rural development projects in India.

• After his bachelor’s degree, he moved to Palo Alto, California for a period to get experience in technology and innovation.

• From 2012 to 2015, he worked as a civil servant in the UK Cabinet office during the government led by Prime Minister David Cameron.

• During this time, Narayan also served as the co-founder of Attain Wales, a non-profit programme in South Wales focusing on social mobility and education.

• From 2015 to 2016, when Liz Truss was the Environment Secretary, Kanishka served as a civil servant in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

• Between 2016 and 2021, he served as an adviser on economic policy and public service reform.

• In 2020, after the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, he started a nationwide campaign in UK called ” Help Your High Street” to support local businesses.

• From 2020 to 2022, Kanishka served as a visiting associate at the Centre for Cities, a UK think tank that focused on urban economics.

• From 2021 to 2023, Narayan served as a trustee of a Citizens Advice bureau. During that time, he served was also a member of the advisory panel at one of the UK’s leading foreign policies think tanks, Chatham House.

• Before entering politics, he also worked in private sector, where he invested in AI startups across the US and Europe and gained first-hand experience of the technology sector.

• Additionally, he also volunteered with Citizens Advice for helping people with issues such as debt, housing, and benefits and with the Trussell Trust that supports food banks and people facing financial hardships.

• In 2023, after being selected as Labour’s Party candidate for Vale of Glamorgan, Kanishka moved from Cardiff to live on the Waterfront in Barry.

• In July, Narayan won the Vale of Glamorgan seat in the UK general election and becomes Wales’ first ethnic minority Member of Parliament (MP).

• His victory was seen as a historic moment. New channel The BBC described it as

One of the most significant developments since Lady Megan Lloyd George became the first woman MP from Wales, back in 1929.”

• After that he was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed.

• On 7 September 2025, he was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety, a junior ministerial role in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, where he took the charge of key UK policies on AI and digital safety.

• In July 2026, Kanishka Narayan came into news after being appointed as the UK’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence on 20 July 2026 in Andy Burnham‘s cabinet.
  

  Kanishka Narayan (left) while meeting with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham

• He took charge for AI policy in the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. This role also gave him the rights to attend cabinet meetings.