Anurag Thakur takes charge as Information and Broadcasting Minister

New Delhi:Mr Anurag Thakur on Thursday assumed the charge as Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a remarkable work in the last seven years and he will work to fulfill the expectations and responsibilities given to him as the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Thakur said.

Mr Thakur, who was the Minister of States in the Finance Ministry, was promoted to the Cabinet rank in yesterday's mega reshuffle and expansion of the Modi Cabinet.

He is BJP Lok Sabha Member from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. Anurag Thakur is the biggest gainer in this big fat cabinet resuffle as he has bagged I&B and sports ministry which was earlier looked after by Prakash Javadekar and Kiren Rijiju.

Born on October 24,1974 to Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, a former HP Chief Minister, and Sheela Dhumal, Anurag Thakur is a Graduate from Doaba College, Jalandhar and had won the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat four times which was a record achievement for a newcomer.

In the year 2016, he was commissioned as a regular officer in the Territorial Army as a Lieutenant.

Recipient of Sansad Ratan Award for outstanding performance in Parliament, Anurag Singh Thakur is a Minister of State Finance and Corporate Affairs.

Within Parliament he has served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Member of Public Accounts Committee. During the 16th Lok Sabha, he was appointed as the Chief Whip, Lok Sabha, becoming the youngest to assume the post.

He is the former National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM-Youth Wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and has been the only National President to be appointed for three consecutive terms in the BJP.

He is also the first BJYM National President to have worked under three different BJP Presidents - Mr Amit Shah, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Nitin Gadkari.

Under Thakur’s leadership, the BJYM had led various socio-economic and political initiatives, such as Rashtriya Ekta Yatra: Kolkata to Kashmir, Shaheed Shradhanjali Yatra – A journey from Guwahati to Tawang to pay homage to 1962 war brave hearts, Sansad Gherav a national agitation against corruption, National Youth Convention, Digital Literacy campaign, etc.

Thakur is an avid sports lover and has contributed immensely to sports in the capacity of a sports administrator.

He has served as the President at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), President Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and continues to serve as President Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association, President Hockey Himachal, President Himachal Pradesh Table Tennis Association and Associate Vice President Hockey India. He is credited for building the world famous Dharamshala Cricket Stadium which is considered as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world.

He is an acclaimed public speaker at various forums on public health, Information Technology, National Security, Governance, Sports Administration and issues concerning young people.

Recently, he was awarded the Sansad Ratan Award in category of Jury Committee Special for his outstanding performance as a Parliamentarian, becoming the only Member of Parliament from BJP & North India to be coveted with this honor.

Sources in the BJP told UNI that Thakur got the elevation due to his hard work and attacking attitude against the Congress party leaders especially, Rahul Gandhi.

Thakur has also done commendable work for saving the people of the state of Himachal Pradesh from the dreaded COVID virus. Only on Tuesday, he managed supply of ten trucks of COVID related material to the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency and the function was chaired by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Being the son of a powerful BJP politician and a former HP Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal, he has learnt the nuances of politics from his father and had become a top class orator and that is why he is given important assignments both by the government and the organization.

With the new assignment being given to him, all eyes are set on him how he performs in the new role of a cabinet minister.(UNI)