Minister of Labour, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of Maharashtra; Ex-Servicemen's Welfare, Earthquake Rehabilitation

Sambhaji Diliprao Patil Nilangekar has been serving as Minister of Labour for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare, and Earthquake Rehabilitation, in the Maharashtra state government since July 2016. In 2015-16, he chaired the state government committee on Panchayati Raj. He has been a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since October 2014, and also from 2004 to 2009.

He served as the president of the Maharashtra Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha from 2010-2013, and the general secretary of the Maharashtra BJP in 2013.

He has played a vital role in watershed management through various efforts including the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, aimed at replenishing the water table in drought-affected areas of Osmanabad district and rehabilitating barren lands in more than 1,200 villages.

He has helped streamline management and decision-making in the state’s Panchayat Raj Department through the use of Information Technology for electronic tagging and tracking of funds. He has also worked to improve the midday meal program in the state’s Zilla Parishad schools, and to improve services – especially for women’s health – in Primary Health Centres in the state.

He has helped facilitate more than 500 weddings for people below the poverty line, conducted free medical camps for 18,000 people in various villages of Latur, promoted sports, and conducted seminars to raise awareness about democracy and the Constitution in schools and colleges in the state.

He holds a Commercial Pilot’s License from Flytech Aviation Academy, Hyderabad.