Dharmendra Pradhan: Difference between revisions

| office4            = [[Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas|Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas ]]

| term_start7        = 2004

| term_end7          = 2009

| successor7          = {{small|constituency abolished}}

| alma_mater          = [[Utkal University]]

| education          = PG in [[Anthropology]]

'''Dharmendra Pradhan''' (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician,  [[Ministry of Education (India)|Minister of Education]] and [[Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship|Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship]] in the [[Government of India|Government of India]]. He has also been the [[Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas|Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas]] and [[Ministry of Steel|Minister of Steel]].

He is the son of Debendra Pradhan, who was also a cabinet minister in the Vajpayee government from 1999-2004. Born on 26 June 1969, he hails from the city of Talcher in Odisha.{{cn|date=July 2021}}

He became an A.B.V.P. activist while studying as a higher secondary student in Talcher College (Orissa) and later became the president of student union of Talcher College. Pradhan started his political career as an Akhil Bhartiya 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.{{cn|date=July 2021}}

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

Popularly called the "Ujjwala Man",<ref>{{Cite news|title=Dharmendra Pradhan: Ujjwala Man who helped BJP make inroads in Patnaik's citadel|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/dharmendra-pradhan-ujjwala-man-who-helped-bjp-make-inroads-in-patnaiks-citadel/articleshow/69585139.cms?from=mdr|access-date=2020-09-10}}</ref> 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]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=International Energy Agency hails PM's Ujjwala scheme, says it's a 'game-changer in ending energy poverty' {{!}} Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/photo-gallery-international-energy-agency-hails-pm-s-ujjwala-scheme-says-it-s-a-game-changer-in-ending-energy-poverty-2773804|access-date=2020-09-10|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref> IIM Ahmedabad published a working paper on "Lighting up Lives through Cooking Gas and transforming society".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Research And Publication - IIMA|url=https://web.iima.ac.in/faculty-and-research/research-and-publication.html&page=4&rnpid=14599|access-date=2020-09-10|website=web.iima.ac.in}}</ref> 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 election.

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.

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 of investments lined up in India's gas infrastructure,<ref>{{Cite web|last=PTI|title=USD 60 billion investment coming in gas infrastructure: Dharmendra Pradhan|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/usd-60-billion-investment-coming-in-gas-infrastructure-dharmendra-pradhan/article29673498.ece|access-date=2020-09-10|website=@businessline|language=en}}</ref> Pradhan has been working to expand the city gas distribution network and piped gas network in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bureau|first=Our|title='City Gas networks will soon cover 72% of country's population'|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/macro-economy/city-gas-networks-will-soon-cover-72-of-countrys-population/article31704265.ece|access-date=2020-09-10|website=@businessline|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Dharmendra Pradhan: India to chart its own course of energy transition: Dharmendra Pradhan|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/india-to-chart-its-own-course-of-energy-transition-dharmendra-pradhan/articleshow/71593209.cms?from=mdr|access-date=2020-09-10}}</ref>

* [[Ministry of Education (India)|Minister of Education]] (Jul 2021 - Present)

* Member of Parliament ([[Rajya Sabha]]), Madhya Pradesh (MP): April 2018 in BJP – present<ref>http://petroleum.nic.in/about-us/meet-the-minister</ref>

*[[Bharatiya Janata Party]] All India General Secretary - 2010–present

* Member of Odisha Legislative Assembly 2000- 2004 Pallahada Assembly constituency