# Dharmendra Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Union Minister of Education since 2021. From 2021 to 2024, he also served as the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India. Dharmendra Pradhan is an alumnus of Talcher Autonomous College and Utkal University. He has previously held the positions of Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel.
On 3 September 2017, he has been promoted to Cabinet Minister. He represents Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. He previously served as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha. In March 2024, he won the Sambalpur constituency as the BJP candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Dharmendra Pradhan has five pending cases under the IPC, including a case under IPC Section 153A for allegedly "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony".

## Early life and politics

Dharmendra Pradhan is the son of Debendra Pradhan, who was also a Minister of State in the Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2004. He was born on 26 June 1969, in Talcher,Odisha.
He became an A.B.V.P. activist while studying at Talcher College and later became the president of the student union. He started his political career as an Akhil bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in 1983 and was elected as its secretary. He holds a post-graduate degree in Anthropology from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar.
After serving in different positions in the BJP, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Deogarh. He was also elected a member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms each from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

## Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas

Dharmendra Pradhan served as Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas. He joined as Minister of State (In-charge) in 2014 and was promoted to Cabinet rank in 2017.
On 31 May 2019, he began his second consecutive tenure at the Ministry. Pradhan is credited with the success of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
He introduced a new Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy. He also led consumer initiatives like PAHAL and the Give It Up campaign.
He promoted India's energy transition and efforts to make India a gas-based economy. With around $60 billion in investments, he worked to expand the city's gas distribution network.

## Minister of Steel

As Minister of Steel, he worked to augment production capacity, grow the secondary steel sector, create jobs, and increase value addition. He launched Ispati Irada and Mission Purvodaya.

## Minister of Skill Development

As Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, he launched initiatives focusing on reskilling and upskilling. The number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) increased by over 40%, and student enrollment increased by over 28% until 2019. He introduced the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET). He also launched Skill Saathi.
Critics raised concerns about discrepancies in job placement rates after skill development projects. The short course duration was also criticized by said critics.

## Minister of Education

In July 2021, Pradhan became Minister of Education in the Second Modi ministry. He again assumed the office on 10 June 2024.
He has faced accusations of mismanagement and corruption regarding the NEET 2024 exam. While the Supreme Court of India did not find large-scale wrongdoing by him, there were confirmed cases of cheating and malpractice with over 100 arrests. In 2024, he appointed a committee led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to enact reforms to improve the entrance examination system.

## Positions held

* In-charge - BJP Uttar Pradesh
* Minister of Education, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Jul 2021 – Present)
* Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Steel (May 2019 - Jul 2021)
* Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Sept 2017 - May 2019)
* Minister of State (Independent Charge): Petroleum & Natural Gas (May 2014 - Sept 2017)
* Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Madhya Pradesh (MP): April 2018 - 2024
* Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Bihar: 2012– 2018
* In-charge BJP Karnataka: 2011–2013
* Bharatiya Janata Party All India General Secretary - 2010 - 2015
* Co-Incharge - BJP Bihar: - State Elections
* In-charge Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM):
* In-Charge BJP Jharkhand:
* Election in Charge BJP Uttarakhand
* Bharatiya Janata Party: National Secretary 2007–2010
* In-charge BJP 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 Pallahara Assembly constituency
* National Secretary of ABVP 1995
* President, Talcher College Students' Union 1985
* Started as an Akhil bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist in the year 1983
Lok Sabha :
| Preceded byDebendra Pradhan | Member of Parliament for Deogarh 2004 – 2009 | Succeeded byConstituency ceased to exist |
| Political offices |||
| Preceded byVeerappa Moily | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas 26 May 2014 – 7 July 2021 | Succeeded byHardeep Singh Puri |
| Preceded byRajiv Pratap Rudy Minister of State (Independent Charge) | Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 3 September 2017 – 29 May 2019 | Succeeded byMahendra Nath Pandey |
| Preceded byChaudhary Birender Singh | Minister of Steel 30 May 2019 – 7 July 2021 | Succeeded byRamchandra Prasad Singh |
| Preceded byMahendra Nath Pandey | Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 7 July 2021 – Present | Incumbent |
| Preceded byRamesh Pokhriyal | Minister of Education 7 July 2021 – Present | Incumbent |