Who is India’s new education minister Pralhad Joshi?

Joshi has been a subordinate of the furniture since 2019 and is seen arsenic adjacent to almighty PM Modi.

Pralhad Joshi has been appointed arsenic India’s acquisition curate aft weeks-long protests implicit an exam leak ungraded led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan’s departure, which came connected Saturday, was 1 of the main demands of the youth-led demonstrations that successful caller weeks had dispersed crossed India into a large situation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

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The 63-year-old Joshi is already the curate of caller and renewable vigor and user affairs, nutrient and nationalist organisation but volition present besides grip the acquisition portfolio, a task governmental analysts said is apt to beryllium challenging amid accrued scrutiny implicit the acquisition system.

As 1 of the Modi government’s longest serving ministers, Joshi is seen arsenic adjacent to the almighty premier minister.

After being appointed to pb the Ministry of Education, Joshi wrote connected societal media that helium was “grateful” to Modi “for placing his faith” successful him and “entrusting” him with responsibility.

“I judge it with humility and a heavy consciousness of duty,” helium said.

Who is Joshi?

Joshi was calved successful 1962 successful Bijapur successful the confederate Indian authorities of Karnataka. He graduated with a bachelor’s grade successful arts from the KS Arts College, Hubballi, which is affiliated with Karnataka University.

He cofounded a chemicals concern aft graduation. However, helium was funny successful authorities from a young property and associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu unpaid organisation founded successful 1925 by doc and Hindu nationalist Keshav Baliram Hedgewar successful Nagpur successful modern-day Maharashtra.

The RSS is often described arsenic the ideological parent of the BJP.

Joshi’s governmental vocation officially began successful the aboriginal 1990s during the Hubballi Idgah Maidan issue, a large governmental and spiritual struggle successful Karnataka chiefly centred connected onshore usage by Muslims and Hindus, during which the BJP and RSS besides demanded the Indian nationalist emblem beryllium flown connected the disputed land.

In 2004, Joshi was appointed arsenic a BJP subordinate of parliament from the Dharwad district. He  has since won 5 consecutive parliamentary elections.

Rise successful the BJP

In 1998, Joshi was appointed president of the BJP successful the Dharwad territory and successful 2014 roseate to go the authorities of Karnataka’s BJP president.

In May 2019, helium was appointed to Modi’s furniture arsenic curate of parliamentary affairs, ember and mines. In 2024, Joshi introduced respective reforms to summation accumulation of ember to conscionable increasing vigor demands.

He faced disapproval from clime activists and section communities for championing ember accumulation amid clime alteration concerns. In 2025, helium became curate of caller and renewable vigor and user affairs, nutrient and nationalist distribution.

According to the government, this portfolio involves “working towards a cleaner and sustainable aboriginal of the country, achieving 500 GW done renewable vigor and non-fossil vigor sources by 2030 and net-zero people by 2070, which are indispensable for India’s economical improvement and nationalist security”.

Challenges ahead?

One of the cardinal challenges Joshi volition look is addressing the concerns young radical successful India person astir the acquisition system, particularly aft a ungraded involving the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), 1 of the world’s largest aesculapian entranceway examinations.

NEET scores find whether aspiring doctors are eligible to articulation undergraduate aesculapian colleges and, if so, which schools they suffice for.

Nearly 2.3 cardinal trial takers crossed India arsenic good arsenic astatine introspection centres successful Doha, Dubai, Singapore and Kathmandu, appeared for the NEET this twelvemonth connected May 3, battling it retired for less than 130,000 spots successful aesculapian colleges.

After allegations of a leak of the introspection paper, the Indian authorities announced connected May 12 that the examination was voided, and different trial would beryllium held.

Disillusioned and frustrated, thousands of students protested.

On Sunday, Joshi held his archetypal gathering arsenic acquisition curate to measure the concern and instrumentality caller schemes.