Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, who is national President of Janata Dal (United) and key ally of ruling BJP, couldn’t have asked for better timing to enter the Steel Ministry as Union Steel Minister. He is taking over at the helm of Steel Ministry when India is poised to ride the steel super cycle for the next few years.

This 63-year-old Member of Parliament, who joined Modi’s Cabinet on Wednesday, had served in the Indian Administrative Service before taking voluntary retirement in 2010 to join the JD(U) and being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He had also served as Principal Secretary to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Singh’s entry into Steel Ministry comes at a time when domestic players are gearing up for the start of a new CAPEX cycle. India’s steel exports are also expected to do well in the next few years given that international prices are premium to domestic prices.

Known by his moniker ‘RCP’, Singh is also an OBC Kurmi like Nitish Kumar and hails from his home district of Nalanda. After Yadavs, the Kurmi sub-caste is the second largest OBC group in Uttar Pradesh, which is headed to polls next year.

Singh received an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1982. He holds a BA (Hons) in History from Patna University.

However, it may not be all hunky dory for Singh at the Steel Ministry especially when industry is faced with pointed criticism from other senior BJP leaders such as Nitin Gadkari, who had accused the steel companies of “cartelisation” earlier this year.

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