Jairam Ramesh (born 9 April 1954) is an Indian politician belonging to
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
. He is a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
representing
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
state in the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
. In July 2011, Jairam was elevated to the
Union Council of Ministers of India
The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...
and appointed
Minister of Rural Development and Minister (additional charge) of the new
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was a ministry of the Government of India formed in 2011. From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
In 1999, the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) was for ...
. However, in the cabinet reshuffle in October 2012, he has been divested of the portfolio of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
(Independent Charge) at the
Ministry of Environment and Forests
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister ...
from May 2009 to July 2011.
Personal
Jairam Ramesh was born on 9 April 1954 in
Chikmagalur
Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists fro ...
, Karnataka, India. His father was C. K. Ramesh, and his mother, Sridevi Ramesh. His father was a Professor of Civil Engineering in
IIT Bombay
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top rank ...
.
He considers himself a practising
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
with
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
ingrained and calls himself a 'Hind-Budh'.
He married K. R. Jayashree on 26 January 1981.
He currently resides at
Lodi Gardens
Lodi Gardens is a city park situated in New Delhi, India. Spread over , it contains Mohammed Shah's Tomb, the Tomb of Sikandar Lodi, the Shisha Gumbad and the Bara Gumbad, architectural works of the 15th century by Lodis - who ruled parts of n ...
, Rajesh Pilot Marg, New Delhi. Till his election to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in July 2016, his permanent residence was at
Khairatabad
Khairatabad is a neigbbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a mandal in the Secunderabad Revenue division of Hyderabad District. This is a Zone in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. There are five circles in this zone namely M ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
. His wife died in early 2019.
[
]
Since childhood, Jairam has been strongly influenced by
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
. He was fascinated by Nehru's modern approach to life, his bringing change in a traditional society and his liberal, humanist, rational approach to life, religion, men and civic matters. He considers himself a product of the Nehruvian era in many ways. An additional influence was
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, whom he originally saw as anti-modern, anti-science and anti-West.
As he grew older and read
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
more and viewed him in the political and historical context in which he operated, he came to appreciate and acknowledge Gandhi much more. He has also studied
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
deeply.
[
][
]
Education
Jairam attended
St. Xavier's School, Ranchi in 1961–1963 in classes 3 to 5. He read
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he " ...
(an American economist who won the Nobel Prize in 1970) and found him very interesting. His presentation, the substance of issues such as population and growth got him thinking of economics and the larger issues of life. Also when he was 17, in 1971, he read ''Asian Drama'', one of the early books of
Gunnar Myrdal
Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money a ...
(a Swedish economist who won the Nobel Prize in 1974) and wrote to him at the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Myrdal sent a very nice reply and said to stay in touch with him. ''Asian Drama'' was very influential to Jairam's understanding of development planning in India.
Jairam graduated from
IIT Bombay
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top rank ...
in 1975 with a
B.Tech.
A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of stud ...
in Mechanical Engineering. Between 1975–77 he studied at
Carnegie Mellon University's
Heinz College
The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, often called Heinz College, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a private graduate college that consists of one of the nation's top-ranked public policy schools— ...
and received a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
in
Public Policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
and
Public Management
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
. In 1977–78, he started on the Doctoral program at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, where he had planned to study technology policy, economics, engineering, and management, as part of the newly established interdisciplinary technology policy programme.
Family exigencies required him to return to India and that program remained incomplete.
He is a member of the International Council of the New York-based
Asia Society. Jairam has been a Visiting Fellow and Affiliated Researcher of th
Institute of Chinese Studies New Delhi, since 2002.
Career
In 1978, Jairam joined the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
for a short assignment. He returned to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in December 1979 and worked as assistant to economist
Lovraj Kumar
Lovraj Kumar (1926–1994) was an Indian Civil Service, Indian civil servant who had a role in forming Indian economic policies from the late 1950s until the early 1980s.
Kumar was born in Nainital in 1926, and attended The Doon School, Dehradun. ...
at the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices. From 1983 to 1985 he was Officer on Special Duty in the Advisory Board of Energy. He then worked in the
Planning Commission (advisor to
Abid Hussain
Abid Hussain (26 December 1926 21 June 2012) was an Indian economist, civil servant and diplomat. He was India's ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1992 and a member of the Planning Commission from 1985 to 1990.
Personal ...
),
Ministry of Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
and other economic departments of the
Central Government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
, including: analysing energy policy during 1983–85, reorganising the
CSIR in 1986 and implementing technology missions during 1987–89.
[
]
In 1990, he worked as an "Officer on Special Duty" during the
National Front administration of the
V.P. Singh government. He reorganised India's international trade agencies in 1990 and was OSD to the Prime Minister in 1991. But he was removed from PMO within few weeks. In 1991 he worked in
Manmohan Singh's finance ministry in the
Narasimha Rao Narasimha Rao or Narasimharao is an Indian surname. It may refer to:
* P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004), ninth prime minister of India
* Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao (1865–1940), Telugu writer
* Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (1887 ...
administration.
Jairam participated in India's economic reforms in 1991 and 1997. He was advisor to the Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission in 1992–94, served on special mission to
Jammu and Kashmir during 1993–95 and was advisor to Finance Minister
Palaniappan Chidambaram between 1996–98. The central government invited him to join the official delegation to the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...
meeting in Seattle in 1999.
From 2000–2002, Jairam served as Deputy chairman, State Planning Board, Government of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
and on the Economic Advisory Council of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. He also served on the eminent persons group of the Union Ministry of Power and other key government committees.
Jairam also served as Secretary in the
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...
, Deputy Chairman of the
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
Planning Board (2000–2002), member of the
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
Development Council (1999–2003), and Economic Advisor to the government of the state of
Chhattisgarh (2001–03).
He was a member of the Congress Party's electoral strategy team for the 2004
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
cycle.
In June 2004, he was elected to represent
Adilabad District
Adilabad district is a district located in the northern region of Telangana, India. It is known as the gateway district to South and Central India. The town of Adilabad is its headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Asifabad, Nirma ...
, Andhra Pradesh in the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
. Following the formation of the Congress-led
United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
(UPA) government in 2004, he joined the
National Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council (NAC) of India was a unconstitutional body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to advise the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of ...
, where he helped put together UPA's
National Common Minimum Program. From August 2004 – January 2006 he was a member of three committees of Parliament: the
Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance and the Committee on Government Assurances and was a member of the Court of the
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
.
![Prime Minister Manmohan Singh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Prime_Minister_Manmohan_Singh.jpg)
In February 2009, with the
15th Lok Sabha elections approaching, he led the party's Poll Strategy Panel. At that time he resigned his posts as
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
for Power and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
Following his 2009 re-election to the Indian Parliament, on 28 May 2009 Jairam was given independent charge of Environment and Forests as Minister of State in the Congress-led administration. He was chief negotiator for India at the
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, between 7 and 18 December 2009.
Jairam was part of the 19-member 'Foundation Day Committee' of the
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...
(AICC), under the chairmanship of party president
Sonia Gandhi, for planning the 2010 year-long celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the Congress Party.
On 12 July 2011, Jairam was promoted to
Cabinet Minister and reassigned to charge of the
Ministry for Rural Development and on 13 July 2011 was named Minister (Additional Charge) of the new
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was a ministry of the Government of India formed in 2011. From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
In 1999, the Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) was for ...
.
[
]
He was instrumental, as minister for environments and forests in 2011, in banning the use of bulls as performing animals. This then led to the ban of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu in 2016.
During his tenure, he falsely accused the villagers of Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh to secretly smuggle out toxic waste from Carbide factory and dump it. Later he had to apologise and also assured that he would not repeat such action and will take villagers in consultation.
Currently, Jairam has been appointed a member of a board which provides strategic policy advice to a key UN agency on environmentally-sound technologies for developing nations.
Jairam has accepted the offer to serve as a member of the International Advisory Board (IAB) which gives strategic policy advice to the Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the programmatic direction of International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC).
On 19 December 2020, Jairam tendered apology to Vivek Doval and his family in regard to defamation case filed by latter, after Jairam accused Vivek Doval of dealing with black money syndicate as per an article published in
The Caravan
''The Caravan'' is an Indian English-language, long-form narrative journalism magazine covering politics and culture.
History
In 1940, Vishwa Nath launched ''Caravan'' as the first magazine from the Delhi Press; it went on to establish it ...
under the title of ''The D Companies''. Jairam was out on bail issued in May 2019 by Delhi High Court.
On 16 June 2022, Jairam was appointed head of Media, including social & Digital media of Indian National Congress Party.
Jairam Ramesh became a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Indian National Congress Party nomination.
Journalism
Jairam's been a columnist for the ''
Business Standard
''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busin ...
'',
''Business Today'',
''The Telegraph'', ''
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
'' and ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'', sometimes under the pen-name "
Kautilya
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...
".
He has also anchored a number of popular television programmes on business and the economy, including ''
Business Breakfast'' and ''Crossfire''.
Jairam is the author of the books:
*''Making Sense of Chindia: Reflections on China and India'' (2005), Foreword by
Strobe Talbott.
[Jairam Ramesh. Making Sense of Chindia: Reflections on China and India. New Delhi, India Research Press, 2005. ]
* ''Mobilising Technology for World Development'' (Co-editor, 1979)
[
]
* ''To The Brink and Back : India's 1991 Story'' (2015)
* ''One History, New Geography'' (2016)
* ''Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature'' (2017)
* ''Intertwined Lives: P.N. Haksar & Indira Gandhi'' (2018)
* ''A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon'' (2019)
* ''THE LIGHT OF ASIA'' (2021)
See also
*
Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry administers two departments, the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade. The head of the Ministry is a Minister of Cabinet rank.
Minister of Commerce and Indus ...
*
Ministry of Power (India)
The Ministry of Power is an Indian government ministry. The current Union Cabinet Minister is Raj Kumar Singh.
The ministry is charged with overseeing electricity production and infrastructure development, including generation, transmission, ...
References
Citations
External links
An interview with Jairam Ramesh27 June 2009
Rajya Sabha biodataResources on Ministry and Environment and Forests (MoEF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramesh, Jairam
1954 births
Living people
Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh
20th-century Indian economists
Union ministers of state of India
IIT Bombay alumni
Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
People from Chikkamagaluru
Members of the Cabinet of India
Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh
Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh
Telugu politicians
Scientists from Andhra Pradesh
India MPs 2004–2009
India MPs 2009–2014
India MPs 2014–2019
Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka