Suresh Prabhu
Suresh Prabhu | |
---|---|
![]() Suresh Prabhu, Indian politician and former Union Minister, served in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. | |
Indian emissary to the G20 & G7 | |
In office 24 June 2019 – 7 September 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Shaktikanta Das |
Succeeded by | Piyush Goyal |
Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India | |
In office 12 March 2018 – 30 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Ashok Gajapathi Raju |
Succeeded by | Hardeep Singh Puri |
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India | |
In office 3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Nirmala Sitharaman |
Succeeded by | Piyush Goyal |
Minister of Railways, Government of India | |
In office 9 November 2014 – 3 September 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | D. V. Sadananda Gowda |
Succeeded by | Piyush Goyal |
Minister of Power, Government of India | |
In office 30 September 2000 – 25 August 2002 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | Rangarajan Kumaramangalam |
Succeeded by | Anant Geete |
Minister of Fertilizers & Chemicals, Government of India | |
In office 13 October 1999 – 29 September 2000 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | Office raised to Cabinet rank |
Succeeded by | Sunder Lal Patwa |
Minister of Environment and Forests, Government of India | |
In office 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | Saifuddin Soz |
Succeeded by | T.R. Baalu |
Minister of Industry, Government of India | |
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | K. Karunakaran |
Succeeded by | Murasoli Maran |
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
In office 15 May 1996 – 18 May 2009 | |
Preceded by | Sudhir Sawant |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Constituency | Rajapur |
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
In office 22 June 2016 – 21 June 2022 | |
Preceded by | Nirmala Sitharaman |
Succeeded by | R. Krishnaiah |
Constituency | Andhra Pradesh |
In office 29 November 2014 – 21 June 2016 | |
Preceded by | Ranbir Singh Parjapati |
Succeeded by | Dr. Subhash Chandra |
Constituency | Haryana |
Chairperson, Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers | |
In office 2002–2004 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Personal details | |
Born | Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu 11 July 1953 Bombay, Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (since 2014) |
Other political affiliations | Shiv Sena (before 2014) |
Spouse |
Uma Prabhu (m. 1984) |
Children | 1 |
Residence(s) | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
Alma mater | |
Profession |
|
Website | www |
Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an India politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1996 to 2009, representing Rajapur in the Lok Sabha. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Andhra Pradesh and Haryana from 2014 to 2022.[3][4] He held several ministerial portfolios in the Union Government, including Ministry of Civil Aviation, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Railways, Minister of Fertilizers & Chemicals, and Minister of Environment and Forests. He is the current chancellor of Rishihood University and chairman of the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA).[5]
Prabhu was appointed to the Bloomberg New Economy Advisory Board as the only representative from India.[6]
Education and career
Suresh Prabhu is a chartered accountant (CA) by profession. He qualified as a CA in 1977, securing the ninth rank in India.[7] He attended Sharad Ashram Vidyamandir, Dadar, Mumbai for schooling. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours from M. L. Dahanukar College, Vile Parle, Mumbai, and a Bachelor of Law degree from the New Law College (Ruparel College campus), Mumbai.[8]
Political career
Ministry of Industry, Government of India (16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996)
Prabhu held ministerial positions during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government (1998–2004). His first portfolio was Minister of Industry.[9]
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (1998 – 1999)
Prabhu served as Minister of Environment and Forests from 9 March 1998 to 13 October 1999 under the Vajpayee government.[9] During this period, initiatives included developing bamboo resources, drafting the Biological Diversity Act, preparing the National Environment Action Plan, and finalizing various waste management rules.[10]
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers(1999-2000)
He held the Ministry of Fertilizers and Chemicals from 1999 to 2000.[11] He worked on policies for the fertilizers, pharma, petrochemicals, and chemicals sectors.[10]
Ministry of Power (2000–02)
He served as Minister of Power from 2000 to 2004.[12] The Electricity Act of 2003 was enacted during his tenure.[13] Reforms made under his ministry encouraged the people to set up their business without being dependent on captive power generation.[14]
Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers (2002–04)
Prabhu was appointed Chairperson of the Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers under the Vajpayee government.[15]
Ministry of Railways (2014-2017)
In the first term of the Narendra Modi government, Suresh Prabhu was appointed Minister of Railways but resigned in 2017 following train accidents.[16][17] In January 2016, the World Bank invited Prabhu to speak on the role of transport and cities in achieving climate goals.[18]
Ministry of Commerce and Industry (2017-2019)
He served as Minister of Commerce and Industry from 2017 to 2019.[19] For the control of child trafficking, Mr Prabhu launched an app called ReUnite to track the abandoned and missing children.[20]
Ministry of Civil Aviation (2018-2019)
In the final period of the first term of the Narendra Modi government, Prabhu served as Minister of Civil Aviation.[21] Under his ministry, Mr. Prabhu laid the foundation for seven new airports across the country.[22]
Awards and recognition
On 18 August 2016, Prabhu received the Goud Saraswat Brahmin Samaj Maharatha Award.[23][24] Media surveys between 2014 and 2017 reportedly ranked him among the top performing ministers.[25][26] In 2024, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Economic Policy Group (EPG).[27]
Social work and interests
- Founder and trustee of Manav Sadhan Vikas Sansthan, an NGO.[28]
Controversies
Suresh Prabhu has been associated with several controversies, including:
- The Adarsh Housing Society scandal.[29][30][31][32]
- Bounced cheques issued by Western India Financial Services, where he served as chairman.[33]
- The "cobbler scam" involving Saraswat Bank during his chairmanship.[34][35]
- A banking fraud case in Goa (later dropped).
References
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu joins Rishihood University as the Founding Chancellor". 4 July 2020. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu appointed as Visiting Professor in Practice". LSE. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu files nomination for Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh". The Economic Times.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu, Birender Singh to be in Rajya Sabha from Haryana".
- ^ Pandey, Ashish (28 April 2025). "India-US trade deal: PM Modi will never compromise interests of our farmers, says Suresh Prabhu". The Economic Times.
- ^ "Ex-Minister Suresh Prabhu Only Indian On Bloomberg New Economy Advisory Board". www.ndtv.com.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu". Rishihood University, Delhi NCR. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). iimranchi.ac.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu Takes Over as Minister of Railways". pib.gov.in/. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ^ a b "A brief bio sketch of Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Hon'ble Minister for Railways" (PDF).
- ^ S, Sharadchandran (20 September 2018). "When a minister came to my birthday party". The New Indian Express.
- ^ Ramaseshan, Radhika. "Alice' in pants who kept growing". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu". Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.
- ^ "Interview with Suresh Prabhu: "Learn lessons from power sector reforms"". Power Line Magazine. 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Inter-linking of rivers within 7-10 years: Uma Bharti". The Times of India. 18 October 2014.
- ^ "10 things you didn't know about Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu". India Today. 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announces new terminus near Kalyan". The Indian Express. 19 December 2016.
- ^ "Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Railways". pib.gov.in.
- ^ Correspondent, Special (4 November 2017). "Nirmala and three other Ministers must quit: Congress". The Hindu.
{{cite news}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Suresh Prabhu launches Mobile App 'ReUnite'". pib.gov.in.
- ^ "Suresh Prabhu gets additional charge of Civil Aviation Ministry". The Statesman. 10 March 2018.
- ^ Bharat, E. T. V. (22 February 2019). "Govt to finalise regulations for drones: Suresh Prabhu". ETV Bharat News.
- ^ "Rly. Minister Suresh Prabhu gets Maharatha Award", The Hindu, 19 August 2016
- ^ "GSB Maharatna Award for Suresh Prabhu", The Times of India, 19 August 2016
- ^ ABP News Bureau, ABP News Bureau. "Achche din? Report card of PM Modi's top 5 performing ministers". Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Who are the Best performing ministers in the Narendra Modi government ? - Indian Youth". Indian Youth. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ EPG (8 March 2024). "Sadiq Khan, Oliver Dowden, Angela Rayner top the poll at Awards". EPG Economic and Strategy Consulting. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Manav Sadhan Vikas Sanstha".
- ^ "Adarsh scam: The story of a posh high-rise with not-so-posh occupants". The Hindu. 29 April 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Jog, Sanjay (21 January 2013). "What the Adarsh scam is about..." Business Standard. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Jog, Sanjay (4 January 2014). "What the Adarsh scam is about..." Business Standard. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ PTI (2 November 2010). "Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu denies involvement in Adarsh scam". DNA India. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ BT Investigation (9 September 2011). "Trapped in the Forest Fire". Business Today. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Hakim, Sharmeen. "Discharge plea of ex-sherif rejected". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Outlook Web Desk (6 February 2022). "Beneficiaries All". Outlook India. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.