Harsh Vardhan (Delhi politician)

Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Minister of Science and Technology (India)
Assumed office
09 Nov 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Preceded by Jitendra Singh
Minister of Health and Family Welfare (India)
In office
26 May 2014 – 9 November 2014
Preceded by Ghulam Nabi Azad
Succeeded by Jagat Prakash Nadda
Member of the India Parliament
for Chandni Chowk
Assumed office
May 16, 2014
Preceded by Kapil Sibal
Majority 1,36,320 (13.88%)
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
for Krishna Nagar
In office
1993 – May 16, 2014
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by S. K. Bagga
Personal details
Born (1954-12-13) 13 December 1954
Delhi
Nationality Indian
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s) Nutan
Children 3
Residence New Delhi
Alma mater Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur
Profession Otolaryngologist, politician
Religion Hinduism
Website Harsh Vardhan Official Website

Dr. Harsh Vardhan is the incumbent minister at Ministry of Science and Technology (India) and Ministry of Earth Sciences in the BJP-led NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He represents Chandni Chowk in Delhi as a Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was also the Chief Minister candidate for the BJP in the 2013 Delhi assembly election.

Early life

Harsh Vardhan Singh was born in Delhi to Om Prakash Goel and Sneh Lata.[1] Vardhan finished his schooling from Anglo Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School, Daryaganj, in 1971. He attended Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, where he graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. He earned his Master of Surgery in Otorhinolaryngology from the same college in 1983.[2][3] Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood.[4]

Political career

In 1993, he was elected as a member of the Delhi Assembly representing Krishna Nagar.[5] He was appointed as the State Minister of Health and Minister of Law for Delhi.[6] He later became the state Minister of Education in 1996.[7] Dr. Vardhan has been re-elected from the same constituency in the 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013 elections.[8][9][10][11]

State Minister of Health

Dr. Vardhan as the State Minister of Health in 1994 oversaw the successful implementation of the pilot project of the Pulse Polio Programme which involved the mass immunisation of 1 million children up to the age of 3 in Delhi.[12] In 1995, this programme was launched nationwide leading to 88 million children being immunised.[13] On 28 March 2014, India was declared polio-free by the WHO, as there had been no reported cases for three years.[14]

In 1997, the Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act was passed in the Delhi assembly which was one of the first anti-tobacco laws implemented by any state government.[15] The act applied across the NCT of Delhi. It prohibited smoking in places of public work or use for example hospitals, restaurants and educational institutions and in public service vehicles. It also prohibited the sale of smoking substances such as tobacco and beedis to anyone below the age of eighteen. Smoking products could not also be sold or stored within 100 metres of any educational institution. Under the provisions of the act, fines would be applied to anyone who contravened the law and they could potentially be ejected from places of public use by the police.[16]

2013 Delhi Assembly elections

On 23 October 2013, Dr. Vardhan was named the Chief Minister candidate for Delhi Assembly elections by the BJP.[17] After the 2013 elections, BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 31 out of the 70 seats in the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. However, they fell short of an absolute majority so were unable to form the government.[18]

2014 Lok Sabha election

Vardhan contested the Chandni Chowk seat in Delhi where he defeated the incumbent Union Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice, Kapil Sibal of the Indian National Congress.[19] He was also appointed in the Cabinet of India as Minister of Health and Family Welfare on 26 May 2014.[20][21]

Awards and honours

Dr. Harsh Vardhan has received the following awards and recognitions:[22]

Personal life

Harsh Vardhan is married to Nutan, and together they have two sons and a daughter.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "List of Members – Dr. Harsh Vardhan". Delhiassembly.nic.in. Legislative Assembly of Delhi. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "A profile of BJP leader Harsh Vardhan". Hindustan Times. 20 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Harsh Vardhan – Affidavit Regarding Assets/Liabilities". Election Commission of India. p. 7. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 "About me – Profile". Drharshvardhan.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  5. ↑ 1993 Election Commission of India
  6. ↑ "Dr. Harsh Vardhan Biography". elections.in. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Harshvardhan is new Delhi BJP president". The Times of India. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  8. ↑ 1998 Election Commission of India
  9. ↑ 2003 Election Commission of India
  10. ↑ 2008 Election Commission of India
  11. ↑ "Page Not Found".
  12. ↑ T Jacob-John; VM Vashishta (May 2013). "Eradicating poliomyelitis: India's journey from hyperendemic to polio-free status". Indian Journal of Medical Research. 137 (5): 881–94. PMC 3734678Freely accessible. PMID 23760372.
  13. ↑ "From 200,000 to zero: the journey to a polio free India" (PDF). UNICEF. 22 February 2012. p. 8. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "India and 10 other Asian countries declared polio free". The Guardian. 28 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Smoking fine may go up in Delhi". The Times of India. 11 January 2008.
  16. ↑ "The Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act, 1996" (.doc). Indian Railways. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "BJP trusts Dr Harsh Vardhan as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi". The Economic Times. 23 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "BJP rejects offer to form govt". The Tribune. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  19. ↑ "Constituencywise-All Candidates". Election Commission of India.
  20. ↑ "Modi's complete cabinet: Jaitley gets Finance, Smriti Human Resources". Firstpost. 27 May 2014.
  21. ↑ Live, India (26 May 2014). "PM Modi announces list of cabinet ministers with portfolios". IndiaLive.today.
  22. ↑ "The Biography of Dr Harsh Vardhan, BJP's CM Candidate for Delhi". Bihar Prabha. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Kapil Sibal		 Member of Parliament
for Chandni Chowk
2014 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Ghulam Nabi Azad		 Minister of Health and Family Welfare
26 May 2014 – 9 November 2014 		Succeeded by
Jagat Prakash Nadda
Preceded by
Jitendra Singh		 Minister of Science and Technology
9 November 2014 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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