Dharmendra Pradhan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dharmendra Pradhan

• Dharmendra Pradhan belongs to an OBC family in Talcher, Odisha.

• Dharmendra was elected President of the Talcher College student union in 1985.

• During his college days, he showed interest in politics and joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)

• In 1995, he became the national secretary of the ABVP.

• In 2004, while he served as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) under which deposit-free LPG cooking gas connection was provided to very poor (below poverty line) households, and the connection is released in the name of an adult woman.

• Under 3 years after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Dharmendra Pradhan handed over the LPG connections to 7 crore households, which was considered one of the best success stories of the Ministry of Petroleum and Gas.

  

• On 23 September 2019, he launched a collaborative branding campaign, Ispati Irada, that aimed to promote the appropriate usage of steel in the country.
  

  

   

• While he served as the Union Minister of Skill Development, there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and student enrollment increased by over 28% till 2019.

• In February 2019, he also launched a career counselling programme under the National Skill Development Corporation to create awareness about various programmes under the Skill India Mission. ^[3]OrissaPOST

• While serving as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Pradhan launched numerous Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policies. He also led many new projects and campaigns in the hydrocarbon sector such as the Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh Scheme which is the world’s largest Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme.

• During his tenure as the Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan led many initiatives to make India a gas-based economy. Pradhan also worked on expanding the city gas distribution network and piped gas network in the country.

• In 2020, he launched Mission Purvodaya to increase the development of eastern India through the establishment of an integrated steel hub in Kolkata, West Bengal.

• Dharmendra Pradhan served as the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas from 26 May 2014 to 7 July 2021, becoming the longest-serving Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

• On 28 August 2023, to spread awareness and encourage people to participate in the #merimaatimeradesh campaign, he led a cycle rally from Barunei Hill to the IIT Bhubaneswar campus.
  

  

   

• In January 2023, Dharmendra Pradhan tested India’s first operating system known as the ‘BharatOS’ along with the Union Minister of Railways of India Ashwini Vaishnaw.

• In March 2023, Dharmendra Pradhan accompanied Australian Education Minister Jason Clare and Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist to various schools around Delhi.