Dharmendra Pradhan has been appointed as the new Union Education and Skill Development Minister. Pradhan will replace Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, who resigned ahead of the Modi Cabinet reshuffle.
Dharmendra Pradhan, new Union Education and Skill Development Minister. Image via Twitter
In a mega Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dharmendra Pradhan has been given the charge of the Education Ministry, a portfolio that was earlier held by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. As many as 43 ministers have taken oath as part of the Cabinet expansion of the Modi-led government.
Dharmendra Pradhan, who hails from Odisha, has been handling the petroleum ministry till now in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term. He was also assigned the portfolio of Minister of Steel. He was promoted as a Cabinet Minister in September 2017 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March 2018 from Madhya Pradesh. Pradhan, 52, is the son of former BJP MP Debendra Pradhan.
He entered national politics in 2004 and won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from the Deogarh constituency of Odisha. He remained a member of Lok Sabha from 2004-2009. He was also a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly (2000-2004) elected from the Pallalhara constituency.
Born on June 26, 1969, in Talcher, Pradhan belongs to the Other Backward Caste (OBC) category. He started his political career as an ABVP activist in 1983 while pursuing higher secondary education in Talcher College. He became the chief of a student union in Talcher in 1985. Later, he became the national secretary of ABVP. He did his MA in Anthropology from Utkal University in Odisha.
Earlier during the day, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, who joined the Union Cabinet in 2019, stepped down from his position as Education Minister citing health issues.
Annpurna Devi, Subhas Sarkar, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh new Ministers of State for Education
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