Minister of Environment,Forest and Climate Change
FULL NAME– Prakash Javedekar
PROFESSION– Politician
BORN– 30 January 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH– Pune, India
FATHER NAME-Keshav Krishna Javedekar
MOTHER NAME– Smt.Rajani Javedekar
SPOUSE– Dr. Prachee Prakash Javedekar
SIBLINGS– 1 Sister
CHILDREN– Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar (Dentist), Apoorva Javadekar (CA) [2 Sons]
EDUCATION– B. Com. Educated at University of Pune.
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS- Bharatiya Janata Party.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE-https://www.prakashjavadekar.com/
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT– The panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh which once saw its entire tiger population disappear, has now be declared as a Biosphere Reserve by the reputed UNESCO. They brought their tiger population back from zero to 54 in ten years.
AWARDS– Sir Purshottam Das Thakur Memorial National Award, for research Paper on “Rural Development and Banks’ Role in Coordinated Approach”.
Prakash Javedkar is the current Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He started to work full time for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since its formation on the 6th of April, 1980.
BACKGROUND– Prakash Javadekar was born to Shri. Keshav Krishna Javadekar and Smt. Rajani Javadekar on January 30, 1951 in Pune. His father was a journalist with the ‘Kesari’, a Marathi newspaper founded by the revolutionary leader Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. His mother was a primary school teacher. He completed his early schooling from a Zilla Parishad School and high school from the Government Aided High School in the Tehsil Town of Mahad, District Raigad in Maharashtra.
Since his school days, he was influenced by the work of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its services for the nation and thus, became a member of the RSS. During the early years of his career, he worked with a Public Sector Bank in Maharashtra State for about a decade from 1970 to 1981 and also for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad during the same period.
Thereafter, he left the job and started to work full time for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since its formation on the 6th of April, 1980. He has held a number of key positions in various Organizations, Committees and the Government. He is most renowned for his contribution as a charismatic Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
WALK OF LIFE- Active in politics since his college days, Javadekar was a member of ABVP, the student wing of RSS. This was the beginning of his political career. His dedication towards his work gained him the position of National Secretary in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. In 1980s he became the General Secretary and was completely involved into the workings of the party.
As part of the student’s movement, Javadekar was quite active during the Emergency declared by then PM Indira Gandhi. Hailing from Pune, he led the Satyagraha movement in his city for which he was even arrested. Though he had to face a lot of problems in jail, Javadekar did not give up. He received a lot of support and finally the government released him.
Javadekar was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990 to 2002. The next step in his political career was the Rajya Sabha. His dream came true in the year 2008 when he was elected to Rajya Sabha. He kept climbing the ladder of success and finally got a place in Modi’s cabinet.
After assuming the charge of his ministry Javadekar talked about “the importance of freedom of press for the success of democracy as it gives a rainbow of opinion”. He also said that “the media itself suffices for self-regulation. Institutions are important for the functioning of democracy and priorities would be worked out after due consultation with the stakeholders”.
Before making his debut into politics, he was a banker. He worked in a bank for almost 10 years. When wholly immersed into the politics, he resigned from his position as a banker and became a full time party activist. Today, he is not only the party’s spokesperson but also President of the Global Legislators Organisation for Balanced Environment (GLOBE), India.
He is also a member of various committees. Earlier, he also occupied the position of the Executive President of the State Planning Board, Maharashtra; and Chairman of the Task Force on IT, Government of Maharashtra.
MAJOR INITIATIVES TAKEN– “India Climate Change Knowledge Portal” through a virtual event where he said that India has practically achieved its pre-2020 climate action targets.
CARRIER TIMELINE/POSITION HELD-
Union Minister of Human Resource Development – 5th July 2016 to 30th May 2019
Minister of State (Independent Charge) — Environment, Forest & Climate Change – 26th May 2014 to 4th July 2016
Minister of State — Parliamentary Affairs – 26th May 2014 to 9th Nov 2014
Minister of State (Independent Charge) — Information and Broadcasting – 26th May 2014 to 9th Nov 2014
Member of Parliament — Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra (April 2018 onwards )
Member of Parliament — Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh (June 2014 –March 2018)
Member of Parliament — Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra (May 2008– May 2014)
Executive President — State Planning Board Maharashtra (1995–1999)
Member of Legislative Council — Maharashtra from Pune Division Graduate Constituency for 12 years (1990–2002)
Chairman — Task Force on IT, Government of Maharashtra (1997–1999)
Chairman — Working Group on “IT for Masses”, Government of India (2000)
Member — Press Council of India
Member — Public Accounts Committee
Member — Standing Committee on HRD
Member — Consultative Committee for Min. of Power
Member — Committee on Subordinate Legislation
Member — Committee on WAKF
Member — Standing Committee on Defence
CONTROVERSIES/CASES– A special court has directed the CBI to respond by September 6 to the objections of Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Hansraj Ahir against its move to close a coal scam case.
Special Judge Bharat Parashar allowed the probe agency’s plea seeking time to respond to the ministers’ petition in a case allegedly involving Prakash Industries Ltd (PIL) and others as accused.
HRD Minister Javadekar and Minister of State for Home Ahir, who are complainants in case, had approached the court seeking rejection of the CBI’s closure report and a direction to the agency to further investigate it and file a supplementary charge sheet.
In 2014, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had started its proceedings on the complaints made by the two ministers.
The case was registered on the basis of CVC’s reference, but after completing the probe, the CBI had filed a closure report in 2014 saying no incriminating evidence had come on record warranting prosecution of any accused.
The BJP leaders had alleged in their petition that the PIL had deliberately misrepresented facts to the 35th Screening Committee with the connivance of others to get the coal block in Chhattisgarh’s Fatehpur allotted to it and the CBI had wrongly accepted the claims made by the accused.
Their petition came in response to the court’s earlier notice asking them whether they wanted to submit anything on the final report in the case.
The court had issued notices to both the ministers after CVC Director Sanjay Agarwal had informed it that the anti- graft watchdog was not a complainant in the matter and had no role to play in the case. It was these two leaders on whose complaint the CVC had started its proceedings, he had said.
The court had said that before accepting CBI’s closure report, it was duty-bound to issue notice to the complainant. It had also directed the CVC to clarify its stand on the report.
According to the CBI’s FIR, the Fatehpur coal block was allocated jointly to PIL and another firm by the 35th Screening Committee.
The FIR was lodged against PIL, its three officials, some officials of the Coal Ministry and others on the charge that the firm had misrepresented its net worth while applying for the block.
The FIR was registered under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI had also alleged in its FIR that while the company had misrepresented facts relating to its net worth, the screening committee had deliberately not followed the guidelines and showed undue favour to it.