Ashwini Vaishnaw so far had the image of a hardworking bureaucrat.  Many decisions taken by him have provided relief to the common man. He who had once taken leave for higher education has now become a politician with even bigger challenges. In his very first foray into politics, he has been bestowed with big responsibilities.

Recently, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi expanded the good cabinet to include a number of new faces. When the portfolios were divided after the new ministers were sworn in, the responsibility of not one but three of the most important ministries -made Minister of three heavyweight ministries viz Railways, Telecommunications and Electronics & Information Technology – was given to Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, a former IAS officer.

As soon as he received his appointment, the minister announced a big change in the functioning of Railway Ministry. He declared that now the employees and officers of the Ministry will work in two shifts. The first shift will start at 7 am and will continue till 4 pm whereas the second shift will start from 3 pm in the afternoon and will run till 12 pm. It is evident from the decision that after the arrival of Ashwini, a new wind of change will flow in his ministry.

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EDUCATION

Mr. Vaishnaw is a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha and has held many important responsibilities for more than 15 years. Originally hailing from Rajasthan, he was born in 1970 in a Bairagi family of Jodhpur. He completed his B.Tech with Gold Medal in Electronics and Communication from the famous MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur, and then did his M.Tech from the prestigious IIT Kanpur. In the year 1994, he became an IAS with AIR-27 and in 2008, he moved to the US to pursue an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

CAREER

Mr. Vaishnaw proved his skillful administrative ability during the severe cyclone that hit the coastal areas of Odisha while he was posted as the Collector in Balasore and Cuttack districts of the state, in 1999. On the basis of his information during the calamity, the government took several steps, which saved many lives. This is when he came into the limelight at the national level.

He served in Odisha till 2003 before being appointed Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office on central deputation during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During his short stint in the PMO, he contributed to building a public-private partnership (PPP) framework in infrastructure projects.

Later in 2004, when the BJP-led NDA was defeated in the general elections, he was appointed as Vajpayee’s personal secretary. In 2006, he became the Vice President of the Mormugao Port Trust, where he worked for the next two years. But in 2008, taking an educational loan, he went to the Wharton Business School for an MBA.

He resigned from the civil services in 2010 to join the private sector as he realized that it would take him years to repay the educational loan. He has since played key roles in several major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens. Later they set up manufacturing units of auto accessories in Gujarat. In April this year, he was named a member of the Press Council of India.

ENTERING POLITICS

Mr. Vaishnaw joined the BJP in June 2019 and was elected to Rajya Sabha only six days after joining BJP. In his election, he also secured the support of ruling party of the state headed by Odisha Chief Minister Mr. Navin Patnaik.

Now giving important ministries like Railways and Information Technology demonstrates the trust placed by Prime Minister Modi in him, which he has gained through his work over the years.

Vaishnaw will face the challenge of running private trains as well as bringing high-speed rail corridors including bullet trains on fast track and commercial development of vacant railway land. Along with this, it will also be important to coordinate with big companies regarding the new IT rules in his other ministry of information and technology.

But it is believed that Vaishnaw, who has a better bureaucratic understanding, will speed up the railways again with major administrative reforms and resolve all disputes in the Ministry of Information Technology. He has also joined the indigenous social media platform ‘Koo’. In his first post here, he described the new IT rules as empowering and protecting users.

Indian Masterminds wishes him a better future and hopes his steps bring relief to the common people of the country.