Dharmendra Pradhan

Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician who served as the 9th Minister of Education from 2021 until his resignation in 2026. He previously served as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas from 2014 to 2021, Minister of Steel from 2019 to 2021, and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship from 2017 to 2024. Pradhan is currently a member of the Indian parliament representing the Sambalpur constituency in the Lok Sabha as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Previously, he has also served as a member of Rajya Sabha representing Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. His tenure as the union education minister was marred with irregularities, including leakage of the scripts for 2024 and 2026 NEET (UG) exams. The government conducted a re-examination involving over 2.2 million students after the 2026 leakage. The irregularities led to suicides of at least 12 students, and has served as a catalyst to the 2026 Jantar Mantar protests in Delhi calling for Pradhan's resignation. The protests turned violent, with clashes occurring between protestors and law enforcement officials, followed by negotiations between government and protestors and resignation of Pradhan.