Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is the Cabinet Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel in the Government of India. On 31 May 2019, Shri Pradhan began his second consecutive tenure at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas becoming the first such incumbent in the history of independent India. Shri Pradhan was promoted as a Cabinet Minister on 3 September 2017. As a Member of Parliament, Shri Pradhan currently represents Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha and was earlier a member of the 14th Lok Sabha.
Dharmendra Pradhan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas | |
| Assumed office 26 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Veerappa Moily |
| Minister of Steel | |
| Assumed office 30 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Chaudhary Birender Singh |
| Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | |
| In office 3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Rajiv Pratap Rudy |
| Succeeded by | Mahendra Nath Pandey |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| Assumed office 3 April 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Prakash Javadekar |
| Constituency | Madhya Pradesh |
| In office 3 April 2012 – 2 April 2018 | |
| Succeeded by | Manoj Jha |
| Constituency | Bihar |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 2004–2009 | |
| Preceded by | Debendra Pradhan |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Deogarh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 June 1969 Talcher, Odisha, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Mridula Pradhan |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Residence(s) | Talcher, Odisha, India |
| Alma mater | Utkal University |
| Website | http://dpradhanbjp.com |
As of 29 June 2019 | |
Early life and politics
Born on 26 June 1969, he hails from the city of Talcher in Odisha. Displaying leadership qualities at very young age, he became an A.B.V.P. activist while studying as a higher secondary student in Talcher College, Orissa later becoming the president of student union in Talcher. Pradhan started as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in 1983, and has served in ABVP as Secretary. A post-graduate from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar in Anthropology, he has been actively pursuing several issues concerning the youth, such as unemployment, the lack of skill-based education, rehabilitation and resettlement of farmers, and has played a major role in mobilising the youth in Odisha.
He kick started his political career by contesting in 2000 Odisha assembly election from Pallalhara constituency and tasted his first electoral victory. Serving different positions in BJP, he was next elected to the 14th Lok Sabha.He was also elected the member of the Rajya Sabha twice from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.[1]
Union minister
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
Dharmendra Pradhan has been the longest serving Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas in the history of independent India. Joining as the Minister of State (In-charge) in 2014, he was later promoted to the Cabinet rank in 2017. On 31 May 2019, Shri Pradhan began his second consecutive tenure at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.
The Ujjwala Man
Popularly called the "Ujjwala Man",[2] Pradhan is credited with the success of 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.Ujjwala Yojana has been hailed as the vehicle for driving women empowerment and social change.International Energy Agency termed Ujjwala Yojana as a "game-changer in ending energy poverty".[3] IIM Ahmedabad published a working paper on "Lighting up Lives through Cooking Gas and transforming society".[4] PM Ujjwala Yojana, among other initiatives is also considered as one of the key factors behind the re-election of the Modi Government in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Policy reforms
Pradhan has led to some key decisions in the hydrocarbon sector. Pradhan, supported by the Union Cabinet, has 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 will enhance domestic oil & 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 Shri Narendra Modi, aimed at encouraging affluent citizens to surrender their LPG subsidy for the needy receiving a successful response of 10 million consumers.
Energy transition
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 to leadership to efforts around making India, a gas-based economy. With around $60 Billion investments lined up in India's gas infrastructure,[5] Pradhan has been working to expand the city gas distribution network and piped gas network in the country.[6] He has underlined that India is going to chart its own path of energy transition which will balance India's energy demand and decarbonisation efforts.[7]
Union Minister of Steel
In a brief tenure as the Minister of Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan has been working on to facilitate augmentation of production capacity, ensure growth of secondary steel sector, jobs creation, ensures value addition and import substitution. With particular focus on enhancing steel usage in India, he launched Ispati Irada, a collaborative campaign to involve all stakeholders in this drive.[8] 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.[9]
Union Minister of Skill Development
As Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Pradhan launched many key initiatives focussing 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 enrolment increased by over 28% till 2019.[10] He brought in new paradigms in the regulatory environment by mooting National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) as new unified national regulator to improve quality assurance across entire skills ecosystem of the country. He forged partnerships with leading industry players like SAP, IBM, Adobe etc. to introduce new age skills related to Industry 4.0.[11][12] He also launched one of the world's largest counselling program named Skill Saathi.[13]
In May 2019, Pradhan continued his Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and got the Ministry of Steel.[14]
Positions held
- Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Madhya Pradesh (MP): April , 2018 in BJP – present[15]
- Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Bihar: 2012– 2018
- In-charge - BJP Bihar:
- In-charge BJP Karnataka: 2011–2013
- Bharatiya Janata Party All India General Secretary - 2010–present
- 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 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[16]
- President, Talcher College Students' Union 1985
- Started as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in the year 1983
References
- ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: Age, Biography, Education, Wife, Caste, Net Worth & More - Oneindia". oneindia.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: Ujjwala Man who helped BJP make inroads in Patnaik's citadel". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "International Energy Agency hails PM's Ujjwala scheme, says it's a 'game-changer in ending energy poverty' | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com". DNA India. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Research And Publication - IIMA". web.iima.ac.in. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ PTI. "USD 60 billion investment coming in gas infrastructure: Dharmendra Pradhan". @businessline. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Bureau, Our. "'City Gas networks will soon cover 72% of country's population'". @businessline. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan: India to chart its own course of energy transition: Dharmendra Pradhan". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ psuwatch.com https://psuwatch.com/tag/steem-minister-dharmendra-pradhan-launched-ispati-irada/. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)[dead link] - ^ "Dharmendra Pradhan unveils Mission Purvodaya to develop eastern region into a integrated steel hub". newsonair.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "2.5 Crore people trained under Skill India in 3 years". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Adobe, Skill Development Ministry launch digital literacy programme". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Sheth, Hemani. "IBM India, NSDC tie-up for offering free digital skills training". @businessline. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Skill Saathi Youth Conclave Feb 25 - OrissaPOST". Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers", Live Mint, 31 May 2019
- ^ http://petroleum.nic.in/about-us/meet-the-minister
- ^ http://dpradhanbjp.com/biography/