Son of Late Shri Narainu Ram Shandil; born on 20^th October, 1940 at Village Basheel, Tehsil Kandaghat, District Solan; M.A., M.Phil and Ph.D.; widower; one son and two daughters; Political and Social Worker.

Served in the Armed Forces, 1962-1996 and retired as Colonel.

Elected to Lok Sabha in 1999 (13^th Lok Sabha) as Himachal Vikas Congress Party nominee; re-elected in 2004 (14^th Lok Sabha) as Indian National Congress nominee; Leader, Himachal Vikas Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha, 1999-2004; Member: i) Committee on Defence, 1999-2000, ii) Library Committee, 2000-2001, iii) Consultative Committee, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 2000-2004, iv) Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, v) Committee on Computer for MPs, Offices of Parties in Lok Sabha & Officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat, and vi) Committee on External Affairs, 2004.

 General Secretary, Incharge, Mizoram, Meghalaya & Arunachal Pradesh; and Member, Congress Working Committee, April, 2011 to September, 2013.

Elected to the State Legislative Assembly in December, 2012; re-elected in December, 2017; Social Justice & Empowerment Minister, 25^th December, 2012 - 21^st December, 2017; and Member, Welfare, Public Administration and Ethics Committees, 2018-2022.

Elected for the third consecutive term in December, 2022; and inducted into Council of Minister as Health and Family Welfare Minister along with portfolios of Social Justice & Empowerment, Labour and Employment on 8^th January, 2023.

Social & Cultural : Mixing with young people and understanding of our rich culture.

Favorite Pastime: Reading, listening of music (classical), trekking, long walks in nature and playing tennis, golf & badminton.

Travels Abroad: Thailand, Bhutan, Britain, Australia, USA, Canada & Dubai.

Languages Known: Hindi, English and Punjabi.

Award:  Best Parliamentarian Award, Bharat Jyoti Award & Jewel of India Award at Dubai.