Who is India’s new education minister Pralhad Joshi?
Summary
Pralhad Joshi has been named India’s new education minister after widespread protests forced the previous minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, to resign due to an exam leak scandal. Joshi, an experienced politician close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, now faces the challenge of reforming India’s education system, especially addressing concerns after a large medical entrance exam scandal.Key Facts
- Pralhad Joshi was appointed education minister following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan amid protests over an exam leak scandal.
- The protests were led mainly by young people across India and were seen as a challenge to Prime Minister Modi’s ruling party, BJP.
- Joshi previously held positions as minister of new and renewable energy and consumer affairs, food and public distribution.
- Born in 1962 in Karnataka, Joshi has been involved in politics since the early 1990s and is linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a group connected to the BJP.
- Joshi has won five consecutive parliamentary elections and held important BJP leadership roles at district and state levels.
- He introduced reforms to increase coal production in 2024, receiving criticism from environmental groups.
- Joshi’s current role includes efforts to promote renewable energy aiming for 500 gigawatts by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
- One major challenge is managing the fallout from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scandal, a medical entrance exam that is very competitive, with over 2 million candidates competing for about 130,000 spots.
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