Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, who took oath as minister Monday, is an engineer who is serving his fifth term in parliament.
Rao, 63, represents Eluru constituency of Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha. Elected to the lower house for the first time in 1984, he is serving his fifth term.
He has served in the state Congress and has been on several parliamentary panels in the past including the crucial public accounts committee 2007-09.
A qualified engineer, his interests include social work.