Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inducted three ministers from Odisha, all in the Cabinet rank.

Odisha

1. Ashwini Vaishnaw

Rank: Cabinet

Portfolio:

Ashwini Vaishnaw, born on July 18, 1970, is a former IAS officer who has held multiple key positions in the Central government, including serving as the 39th Minister of Railways, 55th Minister of Communications, and 2nd Minister of Electronics & Information Technology from 2022 to 2024. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Odisha since 2019, and is affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Vaishnaw embarked on his administrative career in 1994 when he joined the Indian Administrative Service under the Odisha cadre where he undertook various responsibilities across the state. His tenure in the IAS saw him engage deeply with Odisha’s developmental challenges and governance.

He serves on the Committee on Subordinate Legislation and Petitions as well as the Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, and Forests, contributing to significant legislative and policy discussions.

2. Dharmendra Pradhan

Rank: Cabinet

Portfolio:

Dharmendra Pradhan retained the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat in Odisha defeating his Biju Janata Dal rival Pranab Prakash Das by a substantial margin of 1,19,836 votes.

Dharmendra Pradhan, born on June 26, 1969, served as the Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the last government. He is an alumnus of Talcher College and Utkal University and has previously held the portfolios of Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel.

3. Jual Oram

Rank: Cabinet

Portfolio:

Jual Oram, born on March 22, 1961, served as a Member of the 17th Lok Sabha, representing the Sundargarh constituency of Odisha. Affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, he has had a long-standing career in the Indian Parliament having been elected to the 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th Lok Sabha.

Oram won the Sundargarh seat again by over 1 lakh votes in Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat.

Oram also held significant positions within the Central government having been appointed as a Cabinet minister under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is one of the senior leaders of the BJP in Odisha and serves as the Vice-President of the party. Notably, he is one of the two founding members of the BJP in Odisha’s Legislative Assembly.

Throughout his political journey, Oram has served as the state president of the BJP for over four years and was the leader of the opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

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Modi 3.0: Odisha has three ministers in new Central govt, all with Cabinet rank