New Delhi: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bureaucrat-entrepreneur-turned-politician, took charge as the country’s new Minister of Railways on Thursday. He also took charge of two other important portfolios – Communications and Electronics and Information Technology.
“Excellent work has been done in the Railways over the past 67 years. I am here to take the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi forward,” Vaishnaw said while taking charge.
The newly appointed minister later took to Twitter to express his gratitude to PM Modi.
“Took charge as Cabinet Minister of Railways today. Once again from the core of my heart, I extend my gratitude to Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji for entrusting me this responsibility,” Vaishnaw tweeted.
Took charge as Cabinet Minister of Railways today. Once again from the core of my heart, I extend my gratitude to Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji for entrusting me this responsibility.@RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/OvhRwVHFNX
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) July 8, 2021
Who is Ashwini Vaishnaw?
A former IAS officer of the 1994-batch, Vaishnaw has handled important responsibilities for over 15 years and was particularly known for his contribution to the public-private partnership (PPP) framework in infrastructure, something that will help him in the rail sector.
Delhi: Ashwini Vaishnaw takes charge as the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.
He took charge as the Railway Minister earlier this morning.#CabinetReshuffle pic.twitter.com/oNSg0XhKmu
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2021
He has also held leadership roles across major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens.
Vaishnaw did his MBA from the Wharton School, Pennsylvania University, and M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.