Piyush Goyal (born 13 June 1964) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who has been Minister of Commerce and Industry since 2019. A chartered accountant and former investment banker, he has held several major portfolios in Narendra Modi‘s government, including Power, Coal, Railways and Textiles. He leads India’s negotiations on free trade agreements and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai North in 2024.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Piyush Vedprakash Goyal |
| Born | 13 June 1964, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 62 |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Office | Minister of Commerce and Industry (2019–present) |
| Earlier offices | Power, Coal and Renewable Energy (2014–2017); Railways (2017–2021); Textiles; Consumer Affairs |
| Education | Chartered accountant; LL.B., University of Mumbai |
| Spouse | Seema Goyal |
| Children | 2 (Dhruv and Radhika) |
Early Life
Goyal was born into a political family. His father, Ved Prakash Goyal, was the BJP’s national treasurer and Shipping Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government, and his mother, Chandrakanta Goyal, was elected three times to the Maharashtra assembly. He ranked second in India in the chartered accountancy examination and second in law at Mumbai University. He worked as an investment banker and served on the boards of the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
Political Career
Goyal worked for the BJP for nearly three decades and became its national treasurer. He entered the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2010 and headed the party’s advertising and social media campaign for the 2014 election.
As minister he oversaw the drive to connect every village to the electricity grid, the distribution of hundreds of millions of LED bulbs under the UJALA scheme and the UDAY plan to rescue indebted power distributors. Coal mines were auctioned after the Supreme Court cancelled earlier allotments.
He took over the Railways after a series of accidents. During his tenure unmanned level crossings on the broad-gauge network were eliminated, electrification of tracks was speeded up and the first Vande Bharat Express ran in 2019. He twice held additional charge of the Finance Ministry and presented the interim Budget of February 2019.
Goyal has concluded trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the European Free Trade Association and the United Kingdom, and has led talks with the European Union and the United States. He was also Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha from 2021 to 2024.
Personal Life
He is married to Seema Goyal, a social worker, and they have two children, both of whom studied at Harvard.
Offices Held
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Piyush Goyal born?
Piyush Goyal was born on 13 June 1964 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 62 years old.
Featured image: Piyush Goyal briefs the media on Cabinet decisions at the National Media Centre, New Delhi, 7 March 2024. Photo by Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
