Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar: What You Need to Know About the New Ministers of Electronics and IT

The Government of India has allocated portfolios to 43 ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle. Notable leaders like Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Dr Harshvardhan have resigned from the roles of union cabinet minister for Electronics and Information Technology, and Health Ministry, respectively. However, some ministers like Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman have been retained.

Some of the newly inducted ministers include Narayan Tatu Rane, Virendra Kumar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Ramchandra Prasad Singh, Pashu Pati Kumar Paras, Kiren Rijiju, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Bhupender Yadav, Parshottam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy, Anurag Singh Thakur, and Jyotiraditya M Scindia to name a few. Additionally Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been inducted as the new minister for Electronics and Information Technology.

Narendra Modi, Primi Minister of India, said: “I congratulate all the colleagues who have taken oath today and wish them the very best for their ministerial tenure. We will continue working to fulfil aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India”.

Ashwini Vaishnaw: Union Minister for Communication, Electronics and Information Technology

Ashwini Vaishnaw, former IAS officer, took over the reins from Ravi Shankar Prasad, as the new Union Minister for Communication, Electronics and Information Technology. He has also been handed over the Railway Ministry. After completing MBA, Ashwani has worked at GE Transportation as the managing director. He has also worked at Siemens as the vice president pf locomotives and head urban infrastructure strategy.

After quitting the corporate sector, he set up automotive components manufacturing units in Gujarat namely Three Tee Auto Logistics Private Limited and Vee Gee Auto Components Private Limited. He has been the member of the Parliament of India since 28 June 2019 representing Odisha State in the Rajya Sabha. “With the blessings of honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, I will take charge tomorrow and work relentlessly to realise his vision,” he said on his induction as the union minister.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar: Minister of State, Electronics and Information Technology

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a widely known entrepreneur and MP, has been named the new Minister of State, Electronics and Information Technology. He has completed his Masters in Computer Science in 1988 from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and was inducted into Intel by Vinod Dham who is known as the 'Father of the Pentium Chip'. In Intel, Chandrasekhar was part of architectural team that designed I486 processor.

In 1994, Chandrasekhar founded BPL Mobile, which was one of the major telecom companies in India with license for places such as Mumbai. In July 2005, he sold his 64 percent stake in BPL Communications to Essar Group for US$1.1 billion.

Chandrasekhar founded Jupiter Capital in 2005, with an initial investment of US$100 million, and currently has investments and managed assets of over US$800 million in technology, media, hospitality, and entertainment.  He also held equity shares in six unlisted companies: Vectra Consultancy Services, SPL Infotech PTE, Jupiter Global Infrastructure, Minsk Developers, RC Stocks and Securities and Sanguine New Media. He has advocated for governance reforms, institution building, Internet freedom, and national security among others.

On his induction into the cabinet, Chandrasekhar said: “Took Oath as Minister of State in PM NArendra Modiji's team today. Over the last 15 years I have served as an MP and today, I was given the privilege and honor to serve as MoS. Thank you all for your support. Will work hard to realize PMs vision of Digital India, Skill India and New India.”