Overview
Ashwini Vaishnaw (born 18 July 1970) is an Indian politician, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and entrepreneur. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and represents Odisha in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, having entered the house in 2019.
Vaishnaw serves in the Union Council of Ministers, holding charge of multiple portfolios. He is the 39th Minister of Railways, the 35th Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and the 2nd Minister of Electronics and Information Technology. He has continued in these roles since 2024, having previously held the Railways and Information and Broadcasting portfolios as well as the Electronics and Information Technology portfolio.
Before entering electoral politics, Vaishnaw worked as an IAS officer and later moved into the private sector as an entrepreneur. His background in administration and technology-related work has been associated with his subsequent ministerial responsibilities, particularly in the railways and information technology domains.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Ashwini Vaishnaw.