Nityanand Kanungo was one of India's prominent politicians from the state of Odisha, who held successive high-profile portfolios in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. Nityanand Kanungo was born in Cuttack on 4 May 1900 and was educated at Ravenshaw College and University College (Calcutta). He was a member of the Indian National Congress and served as a member of the Orissa Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1946 to 1952.