IIT, Wharton alumnus Ashwini Vaishnaw to head railway, IT ministry

New Delhi: BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the new Railways Minister and head the Ministries of Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology Information as well, the government announced on Wednesday.

Vaishnav succeeded Ravi Shankar Prasad in both ministries. Prasad was handling the IT Ministry since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power in 2014, besides holding the Communications portfolio since 2019.

A former IAS officer of the 1994 batch, Vaishnav handled important responsibilities over the last 15 years and was particularly known for his contribution to the PPP framework in infrastructure.

He has an MBA degree from Wharton School, Pennysylvania University, and an MTech degree from IIT Kanpur.

Vaishnav has held leadership roles across major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens.

He takes charge of both ministries at a crucial time.

The IT Ministry has been at loggerheads with Twitter over the new IT guidelines, while on the communications front, India awaits the rollout of 5G which is already running behind time.

Further, the financial stress in the telecom sector and the AGR dues would be the other major issues facing the new minister.

Although the other major social media companies have complied with the new IT Rules, sustained and strict implementation of these guidelines will remain a key task for Vaishnav.

The industry has also expressed high hopes from the 50-year-old incoming minister.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA: "We aspire that the new incumbent consolidates the gains made so far - particularly in mobile phone manufacturing."

"Electronics is the second-largest traded commodity in the world at $2 trillion. It permeates every vertical in our and the global economy. The new leadership can propel India into a leading economy on the back of manufacturing in general, and electronics manufacturing, in particular," Mohindroo said.