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Dharmendra Pradhan
Indian politician (born 1969) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician who has served as the Minister of Education since his appointment in July 2021. He has previously held the portfolios of Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2017–2021), Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (2014–2021), and Minister of Steel (2019–2021). He graduated from the Talcher Autonomous College and Utkal University.
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He has been serving as a Cabinet Minister since 3 September 2017. He represented Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha from 3 April 2018 to 2 April 2024. Before that, he served as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he won the Sambalpur seat as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[2][3] Pradhan belongs to the OBC community.[4]
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Early life
Pradhan was born on 26 June 1969, in Talcher, Odisha,[5] to Debendra Pradhan, who was a Minister of State in the Vajpayee government from 1998 to 2004.
He became an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist in 1983 while studying at Talcher College, where he was elected president of the student union, and later secretary. He holds a post-graduate degree in Anthropology from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar.[6]
After holding various positions in the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was elected to the 12th Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2000 from Pallahara, and then to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Deogarh. He also served two terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Bihar and later Madhya Pradesh.[7]
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Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
He served as the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, initially joining as Minister of State (Independent Charge) in 2014, before being promoted to Cabinet rank in 2017.[8]
On 31 May 2019, he began his second consecutive term as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Pradhan was involved with the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a program aimed at increasing access to LPG connections in rural areas.[9]
He oversaw the introduction of a new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy and consumer initiatives such as PAHAL and the Give It Up campaign.[10]
During his tenure, the ministry introduced policies aimed at increasing the use of natural gas in India’s energy mix. Approximately $60 billion was invested in expanding the city's gas distribution network.[11]
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Minister of Steel
During his tenure as Minister of Steel, he introduced policies aimed at enhancing production capacity, supporting the secondary steel sector, and promoting job creation and value addition. He also launched the Ispati Irada and Mission Purvodaya initiatives.[12][13]
Minister of Skill Development
As Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, he launched initiatives focused on reskilling and upskilling. The number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITI's) increased by over 40%, and student enrollment increased by over 28% until 2019.[14] He introduced the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) and Skill Saathi.[15]
Critics of these programs have noted discrepancies in job placement rates following skill development initiatives and have expressed concerns over the short duration of training programs.[16][17][18]
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Minister of Education
In July 2021, Pradhan became the Minister of Education (India) in the Second Modi ministry.[19] He resumed office on 10 June 2024.[20]
He has faced accusations of mismanagement and corruption from opposition parties regarding the 2024 NEET controversy, which arose following allegations of question paper leaks and the sudden declaration of the NEET-UG 2024 results on 4 June 2024, 10 days earlier than the originally scheduled date. While the Supreme Court of India did not find large-scale wrongdoing by Pradhan,[21][22] investigations confirmed cases of cheating and malpractice, leading to over 100 arrests.[23] In 2024, he appointed a high-level committee led by former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan to recommend reforms to improve the entrance examination system of the NTA.[24]
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Positions held
- In-charge, BJP Uttar Pradesh
- Minister of Education, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Jul 2021 – Present)
- Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Steel (May 2019 - Jul 2021)
- Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Sept 2017 - May 2019)
- Minister of State (Independent Charge): Petroleum & Natural Gas (May 2014 - Sept 2017)
- Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Madhya Pradesh (MP): April 2018 - 2024[25]
- Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Bihar: 2012– 2018
- In-charge, BJP Karnataka: 2011–2013
- Bharatiya Janata Party All India General Secretary: 2010–2015
- Co-Incharge, BJP Bihar: State Elections
- In-charge, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM):
- In-charge, BJP Jharkhand:
- Election In-charge, BJP Uttarakhand
- Bharatiya Janata Party National Secretary: 2007–2010
- In-charge, BJP Chhattisgarh: 2007–2010
- Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Deogarh, Odisha: 2004–2009
- Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha National President: 2004–2006
- Member of Odisha Legislative Assembly from Pallahara Assembly constituency: 2000–2004
- National Secretary, ABVP: 1995[26]
- President, Talcher College Students' Union: 1985
- Started as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist: 1983
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Controversies
Dharmendra Pradhan has five pending criminal cases, including one under the IPC for allegedly "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony".[27]
See also
References
External links
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