NEW DELHI: New human resources development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar, the only minister of state to be elevated to Cabinet rank on Tuesday, was in Berlin on an official assignment when he got a call asking him to be present here well in time for the oath-taking ceremony that was to be the high point of his political career so far.
Javadekar has been used to bending deadlines and delivering on key priorities since he took charge as junior minister for environment and forests promising to end the rent-seeking that marked the ministry's functioning. He annoyed some activists who felt that he was brushing aside guidelines, but he managed to reduce the infamous green tape through time-bound clearances and direct 24x7 measurements of polluting industries through an online system.
Since there was no direct flight from Berlin to New Delhi when he got the message, his office in coordination with the Indian embassy arranged shorter flight via Abu Dhabi so that he could reach by early Tuesday morning. He landed here at 3am. He was in Germany for attending the seventh St. Petersburg Climate Dialogue.
Not too long after he was inducted into the council of ministers, Javadekar had lost the charge of two key departments of information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs in November 2014. But since then he got down to handling the environment and forests and climate change briefs with single minded dedication and a reduction in the backlog of stalled projects would have pleased PM Narendra Modi who reached him in Berlin.
A number of measures taken by his ministry under his leadership appear to have worked in his favour.
Javadekar was seen to have held his own in the fierce and politically charged debates over the odd-even and diesel vehicles. The minister worked to coordinate pollution control in the NCR region and backed the move to usher in Euro VI norms. The ministry took steps to cut delay in decision-making and improved transparency.
Javadekar's handling of key negotiations during the Paris climate conference, that ended up addressing the country's key points, is also cited as an important achievement for him.
Hailing from Pune, the 65year-old former bank official has a good head for numbers and is known for a pragmatic approach. He can grapple with detail, and despite not being the most fluent speakers, can argue a case with passion and conviction.
