Ashwini Vaishnaw | |
|---|---|
 Vaishnaw in 2021 | |
| Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2024 | |
| President | Ramnath Kovind Droupadi Murmu |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Anurag Singh Thakur |
| Union Minister of Railways | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Piyush Goyal |
| Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 (2021-07-07) | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Ravi Shankar Prasad |
| Union Minister of Telecommunications | |
| In office 7 July 2021 – 10 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Ravi Shankar Prasad |
| Succeeded by | Jyotiraditya Scindia |
| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha | |
| Assumed office 28 June 2019 | |
| Constituency | Odisha |
| Deputy Secretary in Prime Minister's Office | |
| In office 2003–2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-07-18)18 July 1970 (age 55) |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | 32, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi |
| Education | B.E,M.Tech,MBA |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
|
| Website | www |
| Source:rajyasabha.nic.in | |
Ashwini Vaishnaw (born 18 July 1970) is an Indian politician, formerIAS officer and an enterpreneur who is serving as the 39thMinister of Railways, 35thMinister of Information and Broadcasting and 2ndMinister of Electronics and Information Technology since 2024.
He previously served as theMinister of Railways andMinister of Information and Broadcasting, and is the incumbentMinister of Electronics and Information Technology since 2024. He is a member of theRajya Sabha from Odisha representingBharatiya Janata Party since 2019.
Vaishnaw is originally a resident of Jeewand Kallan village ofPali district,Rajasthan. Later, his family settled inJodhpur, Rajasthan.[3][4][5]
Vaishnaw attended St. Anthony's Convent School, Jodhpur, and Mahesh School, Jodhpur.[6] He graduated in 1991 fromMBM Engineering College, Jodhpur, with a gold medal in Electronics and Communications Engineering and then completed a Masters in Engineering fromIIT Kanpur, before joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1994 with an all-India rank of 27.[7] In 2008, Vaishnaw left for the US to do his MBA fromWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[8]
In 1994, Vaishnaw joined theIndian Administrative Service in the Odisha cadre.[9] He worked extensively in different parts ofOdisha including serving as the District Collector ofBalasore andCuttack districts. At the time ofsuper cyclone 1999, he managed to collect data related to real timing and place of cyclone, by collecting that data Government of Odisha took safety measurements for people of Odisha.[9] He worked in Odisha till 2003 when he was appointed as deputy secretary in the office of former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee. After his brief stint in thePMO where he contributed to creating the public-private-partnership framework in infrastructure projects, Vaishnaw was appointed as Vajpayee's private secretary after the BJP-ledNDA lost the election in 2004.[10]
In 2006, he became the deputy chairman ofMormugao Port Trust, where he worked for two years.[11]
He took an educational loan to complete his MBA at theWharton Business School.[12]
After his MBA, Vaishnaw returned to India and joinedGE Transportation as its managing director.[13] Subsequently, he joinedSiemens as the Vice President of Locomotives & Head Urban Infrastructure Strategy.[14]
In 2012, he set up Three Tee Auto Logistics Private Limited and Vee Gee Auto Components Private Limited, both of which are automotive components manufacturing units located in Gujarat.[7]
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Vaishnaw currently serves as aMember of the Indian Parliament, representing the state ofOdisha in theRajya Sabha. He won theRajya Sabha election unopposed with the help ofBiju Janata Dal members in Odisha.[15][16] Vaishnaw was appointed as member of Committee on Subordinate Legislation and Petitions and Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests.[17][18]
In 2019, Vaishnaw stated in Parliament that the economic slowdown India was experiencing at the time was cyclical, rather than structural, and that it was expected to bottom out by March 2020, with growth to follow. He emphasized that the focus should be on investment, rather than consumption, as a strategy for building the country’s economy.[19]
Vaishnaw also supported the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 5 December 2019 in Rajya Sabha. He believed the step of reducing or rather rationalizing the tax structure would increase the competitiveness of Indian industry and would also develop the capital base of the Indian industry.[20]
Apart from these, he has also spoken on issues ranging from the proposed Ship Recycling Bill to women protection in the Rajya Sabha.[21][22]
In 2021, Vaishnaw was appointed to hold the dual charge ofMinistry for Railways and theMinistry for Information Technology.[23] As the union telecom minister, he launched theSanchar Saathi portal in May 2023.[24]
In June 2024, during the22nd cabinet reshuffle, he was entrusted with theMinistry of Railways,Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology andMinistry of Information and Broadcasting.[25][26][27]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Communications 7 July 2021 – 9 June 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Electronics and Information Technology 7 July 2021 – Present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of Railways 7 July 2021 – Present | Incumbent |
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