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Dharmendra Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan (pronounced [dharmendra pradhan]; born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician who is serving as Union Minister of Education since 2021.[2] He also served as Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India from 2021 to 2024. An alumnus of Talcher Autonomous College and Utkal University, he has also been the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and the Minister of Steel.[3]

Dharmendra Pradhan
ଧର୍ମେନ୍ଦ୍ର ପ୍ରଧାନ
Union Minister of Education
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 July 2021
PresidentRam Nath Kovind
Draupadi Murmu
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byRamesh Pokhriyal
Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
In office
7 July 2021 – 11 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byMahendra Nath Pandey
In office
3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019
Preceded byRajiv Pratap Rudy
Succeeded byMahendra Nath Pandey
Minister of Steel
In office
30 May 2019 – 7 July 2021
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byChaudhary Birender Singh
Succeeded byRamchandra Prasad Singh
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
In office
26 May 2014 – 6 July 2021
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byVeerappa Moily
Succeeded byHardeep Singh Puri
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 Jun 2024
Preceded byNitesh Ganga Deb
ConstituencySambalpur
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
2018 – 3 April 2024[1]
Preceded byPrakash Javadekar
ConstituencyMadhya Pradesh
In office
3 April 2012 – 2 April 2018
Succeeded byManoj Jha
ConstituencyBihar
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009
Preceded byDebendra Pradhan
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyDeogarh, Orissa
Personal details
Born (1969-06-26) 26 June 1969 (age 55)
Talcher, Odisha, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseMridula Pradhan
Children2
Parents
Residence(s)Talcher, Odisha, India
Alma materUtkal University (MA)
Websitehttp://dpradhanbjp.com

Pradhan was promoted to Cabinet Minister on 3 September 2017. Pradhan currently represents the state of Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament. Earlier, he was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha. In March 2024, he won from BJP from the Sambalpur Constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.[4][5]

Dharmendra Pradhan currently has 5 pending cases under the IPC, most notably a case under IPC Section 153A 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".[6]

Early life and politics

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Pradhan is the son of Debendra Pradhan, who was also a Minister of State in the Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2004. He was born on 26 June 1969, in Talcher city of Odisha.[7]

He became an A.B.V.P. activist while studying as a higher secondary student at Talcher College (Orissa) and later became the president of the student union of Talcher College. Pradhan started his political career as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in 1983 and was elected as its secretary. He holds a post-graduate degree in Anthropology from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar.[8]

After serving in different positions in the BJP, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Deogarh. He was also elected the member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.[9]

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas

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Dharmendra Pradhan has been the longest-serving Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas in the history of independent India.[10] Joining as the Minister of State (In-charge) in 2014, he was later promoted to the Cabinet rank in 2017.

On 31 May 2019, Pradhan began his second consecutive tenure at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India. Popularly called the "Ujjwala Man",[11] Pradhan is credited with the success of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana launched by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas under which over 8 million LPG connections have been provided to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families over the past 6 years. International Energy Agency termed Ujjwala Yojana as a "game-changer in ending energy poverty".[12] PM Ujjwala Yojana, among other initiatives is also considered one of the key factors behind the re-election of the Modi Government in 2019 Lok Sabha election.[13]

Pradhan, supported by the Union Cabinet, brought in a new Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy, which. Through its uniform licensing for explorations and production of all forms of hydrocarbon, open acreage policy, and marketing and pricing freedom, it is hoped to enhance domestic oil and gas production with substantial investment in the sector in India and generate sizable employment. He also led consumer initiatives like PAHAL which is the world's largest Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme and the Give It Up campaign, that was liberally supported by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aimed at encouraging affluent citizens to surrender their LPG subsidy for the needy receiving a successful response of 10 million consumers.[14]

Dharmendra Pradhan, as the Petroleum Minister has been driving India's energy transition balancing India's energy demand and India's commitment to climate change mitigation efforts. He has provided leadership to efforts around making India, a gas-based economy. With around $60 billion of investments lined up in India's gas infrastructure,[15] Pradhan has been working to expand the city gas distribution network and piped gas network in the country.[16] He has underlined that India is going to chart its own path of energy transition which will balance India's energy demand and decarbonization efforts.[17]

Criticism

The effectiveness of the Ujjwala scheme has been questioned by opposition parties[18] and critics alike with several complaints of corruption[19] lodged. Multiple inadequacies were noted including but not limited to delayed installations,[20]some beneficiaries showing unusually high rates of consumption[20] and lack of proper data to suggest benefit to environment or women from this scheme.[20]

Almost 90 lakh beneficiaries participating in this scheme refused for a refill citing high prices of LPG cylinders even after subsidies [21] and continued using traditional approach to cooking thus creating environmental hazards. Over 1.18 crore beneficiaries bought no refills, while another 1.51 crore bought just one refill highlighting a huge failure in the implementation of the scheme. [22]

Minister of Steel

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In a brief tenure as the Minister of Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan has been working to facilitate augmentation of production capacity, ensure growth of the secondary steel sector, jobs creation, and ensure value addition and import substitution. With a particular focus on enhancing steel usage in India, he launched Ispati Irada, a collaborative campaign to involve all stakeholders in this drive.[23] He also launched Mission Purvodaya in steel sector to drive transformation of eastern India through the growth of steel industry which has majority presence in eastern India.[24]

Minister of Skill Development

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As Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Pradhan launched many key initiatives focusing on reskilling and upskilling the manpower of India and focusing on bridging the skill gap for the Indian youth. During his tenure, the total number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) increased by over 40% and student enrollment increased by over 28% till 2019.[25] He brought in new paradigms in the regulatory environment by mooting National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) as new unified national reg IBM, Adobe to introduce new age skills related to Industry 4.0.[26][27] He also launched one of the world's largest counselling programs named Skill Saathi.[28]

Critics have expressed concerns over the discrepancies in the number of people who actually secured a job after graduating from such skill development projects as only 24.51 lakh people secured a job in a span of eight years [29] accounting for a lowly 20% placement rate among graduates.[30]The short nature of the course has also been questioned and criticized for being largely ineffective and failed to show any improvements in employment rates.[31]

Minister of Education

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In July 2021, Pradhan became Minister of Education in Second Modi ministry after the Cabinet reshuffle replacing Ramesh Pokhriyal.[32] He again assumed the office of union education minister on 10 June 2024 following the Third Modi ministry.[33]

He has been accused of mismanagement and systemic corruption by the opposition parties in conducting the 2024 NEET exam.[34] While the Supreme Court of India failed to find any large scale wrongdoing such as mass paper leak,[35] there were confirmed cases of cheating[36] and malpractice[36] with over 100 arrests made, indicating corruption at the highest levels, leading to large scale frustration among students.

Positions held

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  • 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[37]
  • 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 Janta 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): 2004–2009 Deogarh, Odisha, India
  • Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha National President: 2004–2006
  • Member of Odisha Legislative Assembly 2000–2004 Pallahada Assembly constituency
  • National Secretary of ABVP 1995[38]
  • President, Talcher College Students' Union 1985
  • Started as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in the year 1983

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Former PM Manmohan Singh Retires From Rajya Sabha After 33 Years". 3 April 2024. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Ministers | Ministry of Education, GoI". dsel.education.gov.in. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  3. ^ eburlinghaus (14 December 2020). "H.E. Dharmendra Pradhan". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Fifth-list-bjp-candidates-ensuing-general-elections-2024-parliamentary-constituencies". Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". The Economic Times. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan(Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- SAMBALPUR(ODISHA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". www.myneta.info. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  7. ^ Centre, National Informatics. "Digital Sansad". Digital Sansad. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: From ABVP activist to Education and Skill Development Minister". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: Age, Biography, Education, Wife, Caste, Net Worth & More - Oneindia". oneindia.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan's triumphant return: A profile of Odisha's lone warrior in Modi's cabinet". BusinessLine. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: Ujjwala Man who helped BJP make inroads in Patnaik's citadel". The Economic Times. PTI. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  12. ^ "International Energy Agency hails PM's Ujjwala scheme, says it's a 'game-changer in ending energy poverty'". DNA India. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  13. ^ Jain, Vibha Attri & Anurag (26 May 2019). "Post-poll survey: when schemes translate into votes". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Give-it-Up: Over 1 crore LPG users gave up their subsidies". The Economic Times. 21 April 2016. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  15. ^ "USD 60 billion investment coming in gas infrastructure: Dharmendra Pradhan". @businessline. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  16. ^ "'City Gas networks will soon cover 72% of country's population'". @businessline. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: India to chart its own course of energy transition: Dharmendra Pradhan". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Indian National Congress". Indian National Congress. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  19. ^ www.ETEnergyworld.com. "Complaints of alleged corruption/irregularities against Petronet LNG CEO: Pradhan - ET EnergyWorld". ETEnergyworld.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "Committee Reports". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  21. ^ Nair, Sobhana K. (12 May 2022). "Ujjwala scheme | 90 lakh beneficiaries do not get refills". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  22. ^ Porecha, Maitri (31 August 2023). "One in four Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries took zero or one LPG cylinder refills last year despite ₹200 subsidy, RTI data reveals". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  23. ^ "'Ispati Irada' launched by Pradhan during Steel Chintan Shivir". psuwatch.com. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan unveils Mission Purvodaya to develop eastern region into a integrated steel hub". newsonair.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  25. ^ "2.5 Crore people trained under Skill India in 3 years". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Adobe, Skill Development Ministry launch digital literacy programme". 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  27. ^ Sheth, Hemani (21 August 2020). "IBM India, NSDC tie-up for offering free digital skills training". @businessline. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Skill Saathi Youth Conclave Feb 25 - OrissaPOST". Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  29. ^ Sivapriyan,DHNS, E. T. B. "Skill training: An incomplete solution to India's unemployment crisis". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  30. ^ Nadda, Prashant K. "India's flagship skills mission struggles with lowly 20% placement rate for trainees". Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  31. ^ "Skill India Mission: Short Courses, No Employable Skills and a Lack of Jobs". thewire.in. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  32. ^ "Modi cabinet rejig: Full list of new ministers". India Today. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  33. ^ Dharmendra Pradhan takes oath as Cabinet Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Modi 3.0. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ "Amid NEET-NTA row, Opposition shouts 'shame' as Dharmendra Pradhan takes oath in Lok Sabha". The Indian Express. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  35. ^ "NEET paper Leak Case Supreme Court Hearing Live Updates: All examination centres must have CCTVs, says apex court". The Times of India. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  36. ^ a b "NEET: Why an exam has sparked national outrage in India". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  37. ^ "MoPNG".
  38. ^ "About Dharmendra Pradhan | Biography". Archived from the original on 31 July 2016.
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Lok Sabha
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Deogarh
2004 – 2009 		Succeeded by
Constituency ceased to exist
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
26 May 2014 – 7 July 2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Rajiv Pratap Rudy
Minister of State (Independent Charge)
 Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
3 September 2017 – 29 May 2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Steel
30 May 2019 – 7 July 2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
7 July 2021 – Present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Minister of Education
7 July 2021 – Present 		Incumbent
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