# Bhupender Yadav

Bhupender Yadav (born 30 June 1969; Hindi pronunciation:) is an Indian politician who is serving as 20th Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change since 2024. He is also a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Alwar. He is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Rajasthan, a position he has held since 2012. He was reelected in April 2018.

## Early life and career

Yadav was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan on 30 June 1969. He received his Bachelor's degree and Bachelor of Laws degree from Government College, Ajmer.
He started as a student union leader and in 2000, he was appointed the general secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad, a lawyers’ organization and held this position until 2009. Prior to beginning his political career, he was an Advocate in the Supreme Court and also served as Government Counsel for important Commissions. He was the government counsel for the Liberhan Commission which investigated the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Justice Wadhwa Commission which investigated the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines.

## Politics

Yadav was appointed National Secretary of Bhartiya Janata Party in 2010 by Nitin Gadkari, the then national party President. On 4 April 2012 he was elected as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He then took charge as the National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. Yadav was the war room strategist behind securing convincing victories for his party in the assembly elections of Rajasthan (2013), Gujarat (2017), Jharkhand (2014) and Uttar Pradesh (2017). Yadav is the BJP's in-charge for the 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections and BJP in-charge for Madhya Pradesh 2023 state elections. In July 2021, Yadav was inducted in the Modi Cabinet as a Cabinet Minister for Environment Forest & Climate Change and Labour & Employment. As the Minister of Environment Forest & Climate Change, he voiced India’s intervention to get the term ‘phase-out’ of coal changed to ‘phase-down’ in the final agreement of the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Glasgow. He stated that “developing countries have a right to their fair share of the global carbon budget and are entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels.”

## Parliamentary committees

Yadav's reputation as an expert on parliamentary select committees has earned him the title of "Committee Man". Most notably, he was the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015, and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Select Committee of the GST Bill.

### Joint Committee on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 ("IBC"), which came into effect on 28 May 2016, is considered as an important legislation for early detection of financial sickness of any corporate debtor and to deal with such sickness in a time bound manner by allowing the implementation of the effective resolution plan, if the same is viable. IBC sought to address the lacuna in the existing banking regime and provide a consolidated framework for the insolvency of companies, limited and unlimited liability partnerships, and individuals.
In January 2019, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 in its entirety, tossing out a batch of petitions that had challenged the constitutional validity of several provisions, including the one that has barred the promoters of defaulting companies and “connected persons” from bidding for stressed assets. The Code is being hailed for providing a mechanism for time-bound recovery of dues from insolvent debtors in India and for contributing to the ease of doing business in India. In the World Bank's latest Doing Business Report (DBR, 2019), India has recorded a jump of 23 positions against its rank of 100 in 2017 to be placed now at 77th rank among 190 countries assessed. In 2014, India had dropped to a dismal 142nd rank in DBR.
The IBC Parliamentary Panel also pitched for faster and enhanced payment of workmen dues and employee wages in the corporate insolvency process.

### Other committees

Yadav has chaired 12 Parliamentary committees, and been a member in multiple Parliamentary committees:
| Parliamentary committee | Capacity | Duration/ time |
| Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, 2018 | Chairman | September 2018 – Present |
| General Purposes Committee, 2018 | Member | October 2018 – Present |
| Business Advisory Committee, 2018 | Member | June 2018 – Present |
| Joint Committee on the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 | Chairman | Aug 2017 |
| Content Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha Television | Member | May 2017 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Third Amendment) Bill, 2017 | Chairman | April |
| Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security in Parliament House Complex | Member | Aug 2016 |
| Committee on Public Accounts | Member | Aug 2016 |
| Committee on Commerce Member, General Purposes Committee | Chairman | July 2016 |
| Committee of Transport, Tourism and Culture | Member | July – Aug 2016 |
| Joint Committee on the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | Chairman | May – July 2016 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 | Chairman | March – May 2016 |
| Joint Committee on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015 | Chairman | Jan – April 2016 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 | Chairman | Dec 2015 – Aug 2016 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 | Chairman | May 2015 – July 2015 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 | Chairman | March 2015 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014 | Chairman | Dec 2014 – Feb 2015 |
| Rajya Sabha Select Committee on GST Bill | Chairman | 2014 – May 2015 |
| Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence | Member | Sept 2014 |
| Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice | Member | Sept 2014 – July 2016 |
| Committee on Subordinate Legislation | Member | Sept 2014 – July 2016 |
| Committee on Industry | Member | Sept 2014 – July 2016 |
| Business Advisory Committee | Member | June 2014 |
| Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 | Member | June 2012 – Nov 2012 |
| Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice | Member | May 2012 – May 2014 |
| Committee on Subordinate Legislation | Member | May 2012 – May 2014 |
| Ministry of Labour and Employment | Minister | 7 July 2021 |
| Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change | Minister | 7 July 2021 |