Ravi Shankar Prasad

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Ravi Shankar Prasad
Ravi Shankar Prasad At Office.jpg
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
Assumed office
26 May 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Preceded by Kapil Sibal
Minister of Law and Justice
In office
26 May 2014 – 9 November 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Preceded by Kapil Sibal
Succeeded by D. V. Sadananda Gowda
MP of Rajya Sabha for Bihar
Assumed office
3rd April 2012
Personal details
Born (1954-08-30) 30 August 1954 (age 69)
Patna, Bihar, India
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s) Dr.Shrimati.Maya Shankar
Parents Shri Thakur Prasad (Father) Shrimati Bimla Prasad (Mother)
Alma mater Patna University
Profession Lawyer

Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 30 August 1954) is an Indian lawyer, politician and the current Union Minister holding Communications and Information Technology portfolio in the Government of India. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prasad represents the state of Bihar as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.[1] During the NDA Government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's prime ministership, Prasad held the position of Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.[2] He is also a designated senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

Early life and education

Prasad was born in a Kayastha family in Patna, Bihar.[3] His father Thakur Prasad was a senior advocate at the Patna High Court and one of the leading founders of the Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Prasad earned BA Hons, MA (Political Science) and LL.B degrees from Patna University and has a son and a daughter.[4]

Law career

Prasad has been practising at the Patna High Court since 1980. He was designated senior advocate at the Patna High Court in 1999 and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India in 2000.[5]

Prasad was the main lawyer arguing the PIL against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam that led to the jailing of several politicians and officials, including Lalu Prasad. He is the lawyer in the Ayodhya Ram temple title suit case representing 'Ram Lalla', the deity, in the case. He has represented former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani and has appeared in several leading cases including Narmada Bachao Andolan Case, T. N. Thirumulpad environment cases, Bihar assembly dissolution case among others.[6]

Political career

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Prasad began his political career as a student leader in the 1970s organising protests against Indira Gandhi's government and was also jailed when the emergency was imposed by Gandhi's government in 1977. He worked in the student movement in Bihar under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and was an active volunteer of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and ABVP for many years and held various posts in the organisations. During his college days he was Assistant General Secretary of the Patna University Students Union and member of the Senate, Finance Committee, Arts and Law Faculties of the University.[4] Prasad has held several national-level assignments in the youth wing and the main party organisation of the BJP. Since 1995 Prasad has been a member of BJP National Executive, the party's top policymaking body. Recently, he oversaw the party's efforts in the Uttarakhand Assembly Elections.

He became a Member of Parliament in 2000 and became the Minister of State (Coal and Mines) in 2001 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Soon after taking over, Prasad accelerated the reforms process in the mining and coal sectors. In July 2002, he was given the charge of Ministry of Law and Justice (State). He prepared a bill to amend the Representation of People Act with in a fortnight in 2002. In 2003, he became the information and broadcasting minister. He is responsible for introducing reforms in the radio, television and animation which improved the quality and functioning of these sectors. He helped establish Goa as the location of the International Film Festival of India. He also led the Indian delegation to film festivals in Cannes, Venice and London.[4]

In April 2002, he led the Indian delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement's ministerial meet in Durban, South Africa. Later he met Yasser Arafat in Ramallah as a member of a Non-Aligned delegation to express solidarity with him. He led the Indian delegation to the Commonwealth Law Minister Summit in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He has led the Indian delegation to film festivals in Cannes, Venice and London.

Prasad became a national spokesperson of the BJP in 2006 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in the same year. He has adopted the village of Alawalpur under Fatuha block of Patna district as a model village to be developed under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana.[citation needed] He was appointed as the Chief National Spokesperson of the BJP in 2007 and in 2010, he was appointed as the General Secretary of the BJP. In 2012, Prasad was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar for a consecutive 3rd term and lead BJP in the Rajya Sabha as Deputy Leader of Opposition.

After the victory of BJP led NDA in 2014 general elections, Narendra Modi was elected as the Prime Minister of India. On 26 May 2014, Prasad took oath as Union Minister and was allotted the portfolios of Law and Justice, and Communications & Information Technology.[1][4]

Personal life

On 3 February 1982, Prasad married Maya Shankar who is a historian and professor of history at Patna University. His sister, Anuradha Prasad is married to Congress leader and former minister Rajeev Shukla and she is the managing director of News 24.[5][7]

Work

He launched Social Endeavor for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) health initiative in India on 25 August 2015.[8]

Positions Held

  • 1991-95 National Vice President, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (B.J.Y.M.).
  • 1995 onwards Member, National Executive, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.)
  • April 2000 Elected to Rajya Sabha
  • May 2000 – 2001 Member, Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Finance
  • 1 Sept. 2001-29 Jan. 2003 Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines
  • 1 July 2002-29 Jan. 2003 Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice (Additional charge)
  • 29 Jan. 2003-May 2004 Minister of State (Independent charge) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
  • May 2000 - Aug. 2001 and July 2004 - Aug. 2006 Member, Committee on Rules
  • Aug. 2004 - 2006 Member, Committee on Human Resource Development
  • Sept. 2004 - April 2006 Member, Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (Rajya Sabha)
  • Oct. 2004 -2006 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Finance
  • Nov. 2004- May 2009 Member, Sub-Committee on University and Higher Education of the Committee on Human Resource Development
  • March 2006 onwards National Spokesperson, B.J.P.
  • April 2006 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (second term)
  • Aug. 2006- May 2009 and Aug. 2009-Aug. 2011 Member, Committee on Information Technology
  • Sept. 2006 onwards Member, Committee of Privileges
  • Sept. 2006- May 2009 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of External Affairs
  • Aug. 2009-2012 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Finance
  • Oct. 2009-April 2012 Member, Executive Council of the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies
  • Dec. 2009-Nov. 2011 Member, Library Committee
  • Aug. 2010-April 2012 Member, Court of the University of Delhi
  • March 2011 onwards Member, JPC to examine matters relating to allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum
  • April 2012 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (third term)
  • May 2012 onwards Member, Committee on Finance
  • Aug. 2012 onwards Member, Business Advisory Committee Member, Joint Committee on Offices of Profit
  • Dec. 2012 onwards Member, Committee on Ethics
  • May 2013 onwards Member, Committee on Privileges
  • 27 May 2014 onwards Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Minister of Law and Justice

References

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Law and Justice
26 May 2014 - 9 November 2014		 Succeeded by
D. V. Sadananda Gowda
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
26 May 2014 – Present		 Incumbent
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