Niranjan Patnaik

Niranjan Patnaik (born 22 February 1948) is an Indian politician from Odisha. He is a former state president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee and has served as a cabinet minister in the Odisha State Government under Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. He has been associated with various labour unions in the Keonjhar region and worked as an artisanal miner, securing his first lease in 1969.

During his ministerial tenures, Patnaik worked on infrastructure development, irrigation, and flood control systems across Odisha. He has publicly raised concerns regarding urban flooding stemming from rapid urbanisation and industrial growth affecting land use and water tables in the state.

Political career Patnaik held multiple portfolios during his service in the Janaki Ballabh Patnaik cabinet. He served as the Minister of Industries & Textiles, Handlooms, and Handicrafts & Cottage Industries, and also managed portfolios including Irrigation & Power, Revenue, Science, and Health & Family Welfare. During his tenure, his ministry focused on drafting a long-term irrigation master plan for water management in the state, drawing insights from project models in Canada, Arizona, and Texas.

As Minister of Health in 1987, Patnaik focused on state administrative reforms regarding the recording and reporting of public health outbreaks, pandemics, and hunger-related mortality in vulnerable, infrastructure-deficient regions of Odisha.

During his tenure as the Pradesh Congress Committee President leading into the 2019 General Elections and concurrent Odisha State Legislative Assembly elections, the state party apparatus drafted an election manifesto highlighting policies targeted at marginalized demographics and integrating the national Congress party's Universal Basic Income initiative, Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY).

Personal life Patnaik belongs to the Karan caste of Odisha. He is the son of Braja Bandhu Patnaik and is from the Anandapur region in the Keonjhar district. He has two sons, Devjyoti Patnaik and Nabajyoti Patnaik, the latter of whom is also active in state politics.

Patnaik has three brothers: Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, a politician, media business owner, and the founder-editor of the Odia daily newspaper Sambad; Amiya Ranjan Patnaik, who worked as an Odia film producer and director; and Dipti Ranjan Patnaik. His family maintains business interests in various industrial sectors across the state, including mineral mining and seafood exports.