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Rajeev Chandrasekhar

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Not to be confused with Rajiv Chandrasekaran, an Indian journalist.
In this Indian name, the name Chandrasekhar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Rajeev.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Chandrasekhar in 2021
Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology
In office
7 July 2021 – 11 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw
Preceded bySanjay Dhotre
Succeeded byJitin Prasada
Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
In office
7 July 2021 – 11 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterDharmendra Pradhan
Preceded byR. K. Singh
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
23 April 2006 – 2 April 2024
ConstituencyKarnataka
Personal details
Born (1964-05-31) 31 May 1964 (age 60)
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseAnju C
Children2
Alma mater
ProfessionNational Spokesperson of BJP,
Vice Chairman, VIF Centre for Economic

Rajeev Chandrasekhar (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian entrepreneur and politician.[1] He is a former junior minister, Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. From 2006 to 2024, he was also a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He lost his ministerial credentials after losing his elections in Thiruvananthapuram and was not offered a ministerial position in new coalition formed under National Democratic Alliance.

He has served as the national spokesperson and vice-chairman of the Kerala faction of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.[2][3] Chandrasekhar served as Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Member of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Member of the Joint Committee on Data Protection Bill, 2019 and Member of the Consultative Committee on MoE & IT, Ministry of Communications, Member of the Indian Council for World Affairs.

Chandrasekhar served as a member of the Parliament, Standing Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee on Finance, the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps, Co-chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District. He served as member Rajya Sabha Select Committees for the GST[4] and Real Estate bills.[5] Chandrasekhar is the founder and Advisor to the Board of Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd.

Early life and education

Rajeev was born to Malayali Nair parents in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His father M. K. Chandrasekhar was an Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force and was the trainer of Rajesh Pilot.[6][7]

Chandrasekhar studied in various schools across India, and studied electrical engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology.[8] He obtained his master's degree in computer science in 1988 from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.[9] He was handpicked by Vinod Dham to join Intel and worked there from 1988 to 1991. At Intel he was part of the architectural team that designed the i486 processor.[7] He completed an advance management program from Harvard University.[10]

Career

Entrepreneur

In 1991, after returning to India, Chandrasekhar married and joined his father-in-law's company, BPL Group. In 1994, he founded BPL Mobile. It was one of the major telecom companies in India then with licenses over places such as Mumbai. In July 2005, he sold his 64 per cent stake in BPL Communications to Essar Group for US$1.1 bn.

Chandrasekhar founded Jupiter Capital in 2005, with an initial investment of US$100 million. The investment firm has investments and managed assets of over US$800 million in technology, media, hospitality, and entertainment.[11]

In April 2013, Chandrasekhar was awarded an Honorary degree by Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, for his work as an entrepreneur.[12]

As per the affidavit submitted by Chandrasekhar before Election Commission of India in 2018, he has an annual income of 28 crores and family assets valued at 65 crores.[13] He also held equity shares in six unlisted companies: Vectra Consultancy Services, SPL Infotech PTE, Jupiter Global Infrastructure, Minsk Developers, RC Stocks & Securities and Sanguine New Media. In addition to this he indirectly has stakes in Axiscade Engineering Technologies, Jupiter Capital Private Limited, Mistral Solutions, Assystem Axiscades, Tayana Digital, Hindustan Infrastructure Projects & Engineering Pvt Ltd.[14][15]

Media

In late 2006, Chandrasekhar entered into a media foray due to investments made in Asianet Communications through his firm Jupiter Capital Private Limited.[16] In late 2008, he entered into a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp as Asianet Star Communications.[17] In 2008 May, he started Asianet News Online Private Ltd. (ANOPL) which holds media outlets Asianet News, Asianet Suvarna News, and online portal Newsable. In 2016, through ANOPL, he invested nearly 60 crores in ARG Outlier Media, the holding company of Republic TV.[18][19] In May 2019, ANOPL diluted the share holding in Republic TV after Chandrasekhar became a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha as Bharatiya Janata Party member in 2018.[20][21]

Chandrasekhar at the 10th Foundation Day of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2017

Politics

In the Second Modi ministry Chandrasekhar became a Minister of State following the cabinet reshuffling in July 2021.[10] He was the Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. Earlier he was a national spokesperson of BJP.[2] He was announced as the BJP candidate from the Trivandrum constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala.[22] He lost to the then incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor by 16,077 votes.[23]

Member of Parliament

Chandrasekhar was an Independent member of Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka from April 2006 to April 2018.[24][25] In April 2018, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka for a third six-year term as a BJP member.[26]

Personal life

Rajeev is married to Anju Chandrasekhar (m. 1991), the daughter of T. P. G. Nambiar, the founder of BPL Group and resides in Koramangala, Bengaluru.[27] They have a son, Ved, and a daughter Devika.[28] His mother Anandavalli Amma and father M. K. Chandrasekhar also reside in Bengaluru.

Awards and accolades

  • Honoured by Army's Western Command GOC-in Commendation for his work for the Armed Forces and Veterans.
  • India Today magazine ranked him #41st in India's 50 Most Powerful People of 2017 list.[29]
Year Name Awarding organization Ref.
2007 IIT Global Service Award. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. [30]

References

  1. ^ "Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | Government Of India". www.msde.gov.in. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "BJP announces new national office bearers, Rajeev Chandrasekhar appointed as national spokesperson". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. 26 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Businessman Rajeev Chandrasekhar appointed Vice Chairman of NDA in Kerala". Business Standard.
  4. ^ "Rajya Sabha Select Committee on GST Bill".
  5. ^ "Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | Government Of India". msde.gov.in. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  6. ^ Vivek, T. R. "Rajeev Chandrasekhar: The entrepreneur with fingers in many sectors". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Ahead of the Curve". Illinois Tech Magazine. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Distinguished Manipal Alumni".
  9. ^ "From Intel To Minister Of State, The Journey Of Rajeev Chandrasekhar". Moneycontrol. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Who is Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, inducted into the Modi Cabinet?". The Indian Express. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ Rajshekhar, M. (18 March 2019). "How a legal loophole allows BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar to hide his full wealth from election panel". Scroll.in. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Election Commission allows MP to receive honorary degree". The Hindu. 6 April 2013. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Worth Rs 65 cr, Rajeev Chandrasekhar is second richest candidate in fray". Times of India. TNN. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  14. ^ Rajshekhar, M. (18 March 2019). "How a legal loophole allows BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar to hide his full wealth from election panel". Scroll.in. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Rajeev Chandrasekhar merges 3 group companies into Axis Aerospace". @businessline. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Asianet News proved its credibility despite Rajeev Chandrashekar's attempts at interference". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ^ VCC, Team (17 November 2008). "Star buys majority in Asianet; forms JV with Rajeev Chandrasekhar". Reuters. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Arnab's Republic of Investors: Who is funding Goswami and what that means". The News Minute. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Kerala NDA vice-chairman Rajeev Chandrasekhar investor, director in Arnab Goswami's Republic". The Indian Express. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  20. ^ Narasimhan, T. E. (6 May 2019). "Rajeev Chandrasekhar's Asianet pares stake in Arnab Goswami's Republic TV". Business Standard India. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  21. ^ Tiwari, Ayush; Goyal, Prateek (30 January 2021). "From Asianet to Manyavar: How Republic became an 'editor-controlled' company". Newslaundry. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  22. ^ "BJP to contest in 12 LS seats in Kerala: Suresh Gopi in Thrissur, Rajeev Chandrasekhar in TVM". English.Mathrubhumi. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  23. ^ https://results.eci.gov.in/PcResultGenJune2024/candidateswise-S1120.htm [bare URL]
  24. ^ "List of Council of Ministers Members of the Cabinet" (PDF). Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  25. ^ "RAJYA SABHA MEMBERS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 1952-2019" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2021.
  26. ^ News18 (3 April 2024). "Former PM Manmohan Singh Retires From Rajya Sabha After 33 Years". Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Rai, Asha. "BPL family's walk down Street Legal". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Stocks". www.bloomberg.com. 13 June 2023.
  29. ^ "India's 50 powerful people". India Today. 14 April 2017.
  30. ^ "2007 Alumni Award winners". Illinois Institute of Technology. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

Further reading

  • Sanghvi, Vir (2012). Men of Steel. Roli Books Private Limited. ISBN 9788174368256.
  • Denyer, Simon (2012). Rogue Elephant: Harnessing the Power of India's Unruly Democracy. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408849767.


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