Shri Hardeep Singh Puri is an Indian Politician, Former Diplomat and Author. He was inducted into the Council of Ministers as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs in Sep 2017. He was given additional charge of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation and the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in May 2019. He was sworn in as Union Minister in July 2021 and was the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs & Petroleum and Natural Gas. Currently, he is the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, he served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in Geneva and New York and served additionally in Tokyo and Colombo.