Jyotiraditya Scindia, sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi 3.0 government, was allotted the telecom portfolio in the new cabinet on Monday. Additionally, he was given the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region.
Scindia's entry into Prime Minister Scindia has parted ways from Congress four years ago, and his now position in Narendra Modi's cabinet solidifies his stature within the BJP.
This marks his second term in the cabinet, now as a member of the saffron party.
In the 2024 general elections, Scindia, aged 53, achieved a resounding victory from his longstanding Guna seat. Contesting as a BJP candidate for the first time, he secured a record margin of over 5,00,000 votes.
In 2020, Scindia joined the Modi government as Union Minister, taking charge of the Civil Aviation portfolio after playing a key role in the BJP's takeover of the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh.
Scindia secured victory in the Guna seat by a significant margin of 540,929 votes, defeating Congress candidate Yadvendra Rao Deshraj Singh.
Born on 1 January 1971 and educated at Harvard and Stanford, Scindia entered politics after his father's untimely death in a plane crash. He won a by-election in 2002 and secured victories in the general elections of 2004, 2009, and 2014 from Guna as a member of the Congress party.
During his time in the Congress-led UPA government from 2007 to 2014, he served as Minister of State for Communications, Commerce and Industry, and Power.
Although re-elected from Guna in 2014, he lost the seat in 2019. In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, he chaired the Congress campaign committee, contributing significantly to the party's success, although Kamal Nath became the Chief Minister.
Scindia's family connections to royalty include his mother, who hails from Nepal's royal family, and his wife, who comes from Baroda's royal Gaekwad family. Prime Minister Modi has referred to Scindia as the "son-in-law of Gujarat.”
From 2007-2009, he served as the Minister of State For Telecommunications, Posts and IT; from 2009-2012 as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and then, from 2012-2014 as Minister of Power (Independent Charge).
Scindia’s tenure as Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT ushered in the transformational Project Arrow that modernized the Indian post offices through new branding and IT-enabled procedures.
In his tenure as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, he successfully brought down transaction costs in Indian exports at various levels - right from the stage of production to the end customer.
Additionally, as Minister of Power (Independent Charge), he led the establishment of a unified transmission grid network i.e. One Nation One Grid with a 6-sigma reliability system, linkages for power plants, and resolved last-mile distribution issues in collaboration with State Governments. Mr. Scindia has also been a member of Parliamentary Committees on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports; Defence; Finance; Home and External Affairs.