its all abt kamal Nath,"the commerce minister of india"

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Kamal Nath (born 18 November 1946) is India's Commerce Minister. He is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Chhindwara constituency of Madhya Pradesh and is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. Mr. Kamal Nath is the Minister for Commerce and Industry with Cabinet Rank. He is a member of the Congress Party, which leads the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Mr. Kamal Nath took over as the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry on May 24, 2004. His tenure as the Commerce & Industry Minister has witnessed major trade policy initiatives. For the first time, a comprehensive Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09) has been announced laying out a coherent roadmap with a twin focus on exports as well as employment. India’s merchandise exports rose to around US $ 80 billion registering over 24% growth in 2004-05 over the previous year. Major bilateral trade initiatives have been taken with countries like China and Pakistan and there has been significant progress in the area of regional trade agreements. On the multilateral trade front, India has played an active and constructive role in the finalisation of the WTO Framework Agreement of July 2004 and hosted the G-20 meeting in New Delhi consolidating the G-20 alliance. India has entered the full product patent regime with effect from 1/1/2005 with the passage of the Patents (Amendment) Bill 2005, while major FDI policy initiatives have been taken such as allowing 100% FDI under the automatic route in the construction-development sector. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1968 as a Youth Worker, and was elected to Parliament from the Chhindwara constituency for the first time in 1980. He has subsequently won Parliamentary elections from the same constituency again in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Chhindwara, situated in India's largest state of Madhya Pradesh, is predominantly a tribal district having large tracts of lush tropical forests. He was also the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress and a Member of the Congress Working Party, the highest decision making body of the Congress Party, during September 2002 to July 2004. As a Member of Parliament Mr. Kamal Nath represented India in the United Nations General Assembly in 1982 and 1983. He also attended the International Parliamentary Union Conferences held in Nicaragua (1987), Guatemala (1988) and Cyprus (1990). For sometime he served on the Board of Directors of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), a Government of India Undertaking. Mr. Kamal Nath was first inducted into the Union Council of Ministers as Minister of Environment & Forests in June 1991. During his tenure Mr. Nath made a remarkable contribution to the enunciation and development of the National Policy on Ecological Conservation and the Abatement of Pollution. His policy initiatives include establishment of Environment Tribunals, the concept of Environment Audit, special measures for the further protection and conservation of wildlife - fauna as well as flora, and the establishment of Environment Brigades and Afforestation Brigades so as to enthuse the youth in the country, and involve them, as well as many Non-Governmental Organizations, in active participation in the conservation of the environment. The afforestation and development of degraded wastelands in India was taken up on a massive scale under his stewardship. He enunciated global concepts on Environmental Tariffs and conceptualized Global Emission Quotas. As Minister, Mr. Kamal Nath led the Indian Delegation to the World Forestry Conference in Paris (1991), the UNEP Governing Council meeting in Nairobi, the PREPCOM IV discussions in New York and the Kuala Lumpur Conference, all in 1992. He hosted the SAARC Environment Ministers Conference in New Delhi and emerged as one of the chief spokesmen for developing countries at the UNCED in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. Mr. Nath has also led national delegations to Finland, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Dubai and UK as also to UNCTAD and UNEP. Following this, he was Textile Minister. During his tenure the country touched new heights in production & export of Cotton. The New Textile policy was successfully launched to achieve an all time high exports of garments & fabrics. Mr. Nath was educated at the prestigious Doon School in Dehra Dun, and subsequently obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. Mr. Kamal Nath is interested in a variety of sports. Mr. Kamal Nath has a keen interest in welfare issues, particularly tribal uplift and rural development. He is also President of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad; Chairman, Madhya Pradesh Child Development Council; and Patron, Bharat Yuvak Samaj (Youth Wing of All India Bharat Seva Samaj). Controversies------: Kamal Nath was embroiled in a controversy when the Supreme Court in March 2002, applying the polluter pays principle, imposed a fine of Rs 1,000,000 (US$ 22,500) on Kamal Nath for damaging the environment by building a motel on the bank of river Beas near Kulu-Manali in Himachal Pradesh. The Supreme Court Bench held that Kamal Nath was liable to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh for causing damage to the sensitive ecology of the area by building Span Motel. On December 13, 1996, the Supreme Court had canceled the land leased to Span Motel venture of Kamal Nath. But Kamal nath the then Environment Minister, bypassed the court order and presented himself with that large area of the bank of river Beas in Kullu-Manali Valley, which is part of the protected forest. The petition against Kamal Nath was filed by environmental activist lawyer M C Mehta alleging that serious ecological imbalance was created by the motel, which tried to change the course of the river. The court had directed the Himachal Pradesh government to take over the area and restore it to the original conditions. He is the current Union Minister of Cabinet rank for Commerce & Industry.