Annpurna Devi, Subhas Sarkar and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh have been appointed as the new Ministers of State for Education as part of the cabinet reshuffle, the first in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term from May 2019. While Ms Devi, Dr Sarkar and Mr Singh being appointed as Ministers of State for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan is the new Union Education Minister now.
Annpurna Devi is a Lok Sabha MP for Kodarma in Jharkhand, serving her first term as a member of Parliament. She has also been a four-time MLA from Jharkhand and Bihar and has served as Cabinet Minister in the Jharkhand Government with portfolios like Irrigation, Women and Child Welfare, and Registration. Ms Devi has also served as Minister of State for Mines and Geology in the Bihar Government.
While Rajkumar Ranjan Singh is from Manipur and a Lok Sabha MP for Inner Manipur in his first term as the member of Parliament, Prior to his political career, he had a four-decade-long career as a Geography Professor and ending as Director of College Development Council in Manipur University.
Subhas Sarkar is a Lok Sabha MP for Bankura in West Bengal, also serving his first term as a member of Parliament. He is a Gynaecologist and board member of AIIMS Kalyani.
With Ms Devi, Dr Sarkar and Mr Singh appointed as the new Education Ministers of State, a lot is expected to be done in the education sector. Digital India and e-learning might see a change. Education of girl child, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Centrally sponsored scholarships will probably get a boost.
Earlier today the Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre has resigned from his post. Mr Dhotre represents the Akola Constituency of Maharashtra. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank', as well resigned from the post of the Union Education Minister citing health reasons. Mr Pokhriyal was the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand between 2009 and 2011. Also known as ‘Nishank', Mr Pokhriyal took charge as the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister (now Education Minister) in May 2019.