Sukhbir Singh Badal

Early life and education

Sukhbir Badal was born on 9 July 1962 in Faridkot. His mother's name is Surinder Kaur. Initially, he was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar. He completed an M.A. Hons School in Economics from Panjab University Chandigarh from 1980 to 1984 and an M.B.A from California State University, Los Angeles in the United States.

Political career

Sukhbir Singh Badal was a member of the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha, representing Faridkot. He was Union Minister of State for Industry in Second Vajpayee Ministry during 1998 to 1999. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha during 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was re-elected from Faridkot for 14th Lok Sabha. He became the President of Akali Dal in January 2008. A year later in January 2009, he was made the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab. He was not the Member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha at that time. He resigned in July 2009, upon the completion of six-month period available for contesting elections for the assembly, during which he did not contest any elections. He was again appointed Deputy Chief Minister in August 2009 after winning by-elections from Jalalabad Assembly Constituency.

Sukhbir Badal defeated Bhagwant Mann in 2017 Assembly Elections, however, the SAD + BJP Alliance was defeated by Congress.

Controversies : Corruption and Moga molestation case

In April 2015, a teenage girl died and her mother was seriously injured when they were molested and thrown from a running bus near Gil village, in Moga district. The Bus was operated by Orbit aviation, a company part owned by Badal.

Subsequently, it was revealed by news channels that the Chief Minister of Punjab bribed the girls father with Rs. 30 Lakh to buy his silence.

2012 Punjab elections

Akali Dal-BJP combined secured victory in the 2012 Punjab elections, beating anti-incumbency for the first time in Punjab. Sukhbir was re-elected from Jalalabad and remained Deputy Chief Minister. In the new government he held portfolio of Home, Governance Reforms, Housing, Excise and Taxation, Investment Promotion, Sports and Youth Services Welfare and Civil Aviation. This victory and later victory in Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections in January 2013 elevated the position of Sukhbir Singh Badal as an important leader in Sikh politics.

Progressive Punjab

Organised by Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Punjab, 'Progressive Punjab Investors Summit' is a first of its kind initiative by the Government of Punjab to reach out to investors and business leaders to showcase opportunities offered by Punjab. Envisioned by Punjab Deputy CM, Sukhbir Singh Badal, it is aimed towards showcasing the state's strengths, which make Punjab one of the most favoured destinations and one of the easiest places to do business in India. Punjab is amongst one of the leading states of India in terms of industrial investment with a unique combination of a talented human resources, unmatched infrastructure and limitless growth opportunities. Punjab stood first in terms of setting up business as per a study released by World Bank.

Held twice at Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali, it was first took place in the year 2013 and subsequently in 2015. The summit focused on opportunities for investors in sectors like manufacturing, textiles, light engineering, information technology, hardware & electronics, agro and food processing, tourism and healthcare to provide impetus to the state economy. In the first edition of the summit, Punjab government in an effort to provide 'ease of doing business' to new investors, had also set up a Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP). It is a one-stop authority to give clearances to new business proposals and fiscal incentives in a time bound manner.

The summit was huge success and Punjab government garnered huge investment by signing MoU with the corporate giants from across the world. It is to be noted that the Punjab government had signed proposals of over Rs.65,000 crore worth of investments in the state during the first investors' summit and in the second edition, it garnered investment worth Rs 1.13 Lakh crore.

Mohali International Airport

Chandigarh embarked on an international journey with Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal leading a 40-member trade delegation in the maiden flight to Sharjah.

Investment Outreach Seminar - Dubai

Presenting a strong case of Punjab, Deputy Chief Minister apprised the international business community about the plethora of investment opportunities offered by the state.

On behalf of Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP), Sukhbir singh Badal signed a tripartite MoU with Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) of Dubai and the Confederation Indian Industry (CII).

Road Infrastructure

Sukhbir Singh Badal along with Union Minister for Roads and Highways, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of 12 mega road projects for Punjab worth Rs 10,290 crore.

Personal life

He is married to Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is also a politician and presently Member of Parliament of India from Bathinda(Lok Sabha constituency) and the union food processing minister under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. .