Prakash Keshav Javadekar (born 30 January 1951) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP) and served as the
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change from 30 May 2019 till 7 July 2021.
Javadekar was elected to the upper house
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
as a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
from
Maharashtra in 2008, and re-elected from
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...
in 2014.
Following the victory of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
in the
2014 Indian General Election
General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, he was appointed Minister State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...
. He is also a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs,
and briefly held the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting.
Javadekar is an official
spokesperson
A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.
Duties and function
In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
of the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
.
He is married to Prachee Javadekar and has two sons. He also has a brother, Suhas Javadekar.
Education
Javadekar has a
B.Com.(Hons) from the
University of Pune
Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganes ...
.
[http://www.archive.india.gov.in/govt/rajyasabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=2050 ]
Political career
Active in politics since his college days, Javadekar was a member of ABVP, the student union. During the
Emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
declared by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977, Javadekar participated in student movements against the government.
From 1984 to 1990, Javadekar was a National Secretary and then General Secretary in the
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) (translation: Indian People's Youth Front) is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political parties in India. It was founded in 1978, and its first national president w ...
. In 1989, he was appointed State Secretary and Campaign Chief of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
in Maharashtra, a position he held till 1995. Javadekar was elected to the
Maharashtra Legislative Council
The Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad or Maharashtra Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India.
Location
The seat of the Vidhan Parishad is situated at the Nariman Point area of South M ...
between 1990 and 2002. He also occupied the positions of the Executive President of the State Planning Board and then Chairman of the Task Force on IT in the
Government of Maharashtra
The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the states of india, state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected State governments of India, government with 288 Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), MLAs ...
.
In 2008, Javadekar was elected to the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
as a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
from
Maharashtra. He was re-elected from
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...
in 2014.
Following the victory of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
in the
2014 Indian General Election
General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, Javadekar was appointed Minister State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also appointed as a Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs.
He led the Indian delegation to the
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Con ...
.
Between May to November 2014, he was also Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.
After taking charge of his ministry, Javadekar notably said that “the media itself suffices for self-regulation. Institutions are important for the functioning of democracy and priorities would be worked out after due consultation with the stakeholders”.
Javadekar is now the Human Resource and Development Minister of India and also a veteran spokesperson of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
. Before becoming a National Spokesperson, he was also a Spokesperson for the
Maharashtra BJP. He has also previously in-charge of the BJP's Economic Forum and Cells related to the economy.
On 31 May 2012, based on Javadekar's complaints about various
irregularities in coal mining, the
Central Vigilance Commission
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, f ...
(CVC) directed a
CBI enquiry. He said,"We have made a formal complaint to CVC because there were so many glaring lacunae which needed to be probed. If the inquiry has been ordered, it's good."
Javdekar's ministry conducts a common admission process for national institutes via the
Joint Seat Allocation Authority
The Joint Seat Allocation Authority, also known as JoSAA, is an agency established by the Ministry of Education formerly knows as HRD Ministry to manage and regulate the admission to 110 tertiary institutes administered by the national governme ...
. In 2016 more than 3000 seats were still vacant in the 92 institutes involved in the system, leading to calls for a further round of placements to fill the vacancies. To date the ministry has refused to conduct a "spot round" of further placements.
In May 2019, Javadekar became the Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting.
In July 2021, he was removed from all posts of cabinet ministers in
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
.
Personal life
Javadekar's wife Prachee Javadekar is an education researcher and consultant and is a former Director of
Indira Institute of Management,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
. He has two sons: Ashutosh Javadekar who is a dentist and an artist, and Apoorva Javadekar, who is Assistant Professor of Finance at
Indian School of Business
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is a private business school established in India in 2001. It has two parallel campuses in India, in Hyderabad (Telangana) and Mohali (Punjab). It offers certificates in various post-graduate management pro ...
. On 16 April 2021, he tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
.
Positions held
*Union
Minister of Human Resource Development
The Minister of Education, formerly the Minister of Human Resources Development (1985-2020), is the head of the Ministry of Education and one of the cabinet ministers of the Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often a ...
-
* Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change portfolio.
*
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected ...
(UP) as a candidate from
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
* October 2011 onwards - Member, Committee on the Implementation of the
Right to Education Act
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for c ...
* Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting (May 2014 - November 2014)
* Union
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs (May 2014 - November 2014)
*
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected ...
(
Maharashtra) (2008–14)
* Member, Standing Committee on Defence (2008–10 and 2012–14)
* Member,
Press Council of India
The Press Council of India is a statutory, adjudicating organisation in India formed in 1966 by its parliament. It is the self-regulatory watchdog of the press, for the press and by the press, that operates under the Press Council Act of 1978., Q ...
(2010–14)
* Member, Standing Committee on Human Resources and Development (2010–12)
* Member,
Public Accounts Committee
* Member, Consultative Committee for
Ministry of Power
* Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation
* Member, Committee on Waqf
* Chairman, Working Group on "IT for Masses",
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. (2000)
* President, NOINO (National Organization of Insurance Officers)
* President, KCKU (Khadi Commission Karmachari Union)
* Executive President, State Planning Board Maharashtra (1995-1999)
* Member of Legislative Council – Maharashtra from the Pune Division Graduate Constituency (1990-2002)
* Chairman, TASK FORCE ON IT,
Government of Maharashtra
The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the states of india, state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected State governments of India, government with 288 Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), MLAs ...
(1997-1999)
* President, GLOBE India (Global Legislators Organisation for Balanced Environment)
Books published
In Marathi:
[
* (i) Bekaricha Jwalamukhi (Problem of Unemployment), 1986,
* (ii) Nanenidhiche Karz (IMF Loan), 1987
* (iii) Shetkaryanchi Karzmukti (Farm Loan Waiver), 1988
* (iv) Mahagaicha Bhasmasoor (Problem of Inflation), 1999 and 2010
* Presented over 300 articles in various newspapers on contemporary subjects; has also written many booklets on unemployment, inflation, IMF loan and other political issues]
References
External links
Official website
Detailed Profile: Shri Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar
on Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
Prakash Javdekar
on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Javadekar, Prakash
1951 births
Living people
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Maharashtra
Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council
Marathi politicians
Politicians from Pune
Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra
Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)
Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh
Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni
Narendra Modi ministry
Ministers for Information and Broadcasting of India
Members of the Cabinet of India
Education Ministers of India
Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party