With every profession becoming more and more competitive, educational qualification has become vital in shaping the career of most people, except politicians. While there are numerous debates on what should be the minimum education level of a politician, there are no defined criteria in the constitution. However, the educational qualification of candidates contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha election is in the public domain and based on that, we can assess the educational qualification of the members of the Parliament and the assemblies. Here’s a list of the top 10 most educated ministers in the Narendra Modi Cabinet:
1. Piyush Goyal: The Union power minister has a brilliant academic record. He is the all-India second rank holder Chartered Accountant and second rank holder in Law in Mumbai University. He completed his schooling at Don Bosco High School, Mumbai and graduated from Jai Hind College. He later did an LLB from Government Law College, Mumbai. Professionally, he was a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant.
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2. S Jaishankar: One of the most educated politician in Indian political history, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar did his schooling from The Air Force School, New Delhi, and is a graduate of St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi. He has an MA in Political Science and an M.Phil. and PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.
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3. Dr Harsh Vardhan: BJP leader Dr Harsh Vardhan is also one of the most educated politicians. He did his MBBS and later obtained his Master of Surgery degree in Otorhinolaryngology from Kanpur's Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College. He currently holds the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.
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4. General VK Singh: General VK Singh, who currently holds the Ministry of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways position, graduated from the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) and also pursued MSc in Defence Studies from Madras University. Later, he pursued Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College and did a PhD from Bhopal's Barkatullah University.
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5. Som Prakash: Som Prakash is a Member of Parliament from Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha Constituency and heads the Ministry of State Commerce and Industry. He is also a former Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar and former IAS officer of the 1988 batch in Punjab cadre. He is an MA (Economics) from the Punjab University, Chandigarh. He had started his career as a research officer in the Punjab State Planning Board in 1972. Thereafter, he became an excise and taxation officer in the Punjab Excise Department.
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6. Jitendra Singh: A renowned Diabetologist and a former professor, Singh completed his MBBS from Stanley Medical College in Chennai and MD (Medicine) from Government Medical College, Jammu. Singh is currently holding multiple portfolios as MoS for the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region, Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.
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7. Nirmala Sitharaman: The former BJP spokesperson is a Bachelor of Arts from Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College, Tiruchirappalli. She completed her masters in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi. She also did her PhD in international commerce (Indo-European textile trade within the GATT framework ). Besides, she also holds an M.Phil degree from JNU. Sitharaman is currently in charge of the Commerce and Industry Ministry and Finance ministry as MoS.
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8. Ravi Shankar Prasad: Ravi Shankar Prasad is a veteran leader who currently holds the Ministry of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology in the Modi cabinet. Prasad studied BA Hons, followed by MA (Political Science) and LL.B degrees from Patna University. He has been practising at the Patna High Court since 1980. He was designated senior advocate at the Patna High Court in 1999 and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India in 2000.
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9. Raj Kumar Singh: Raj Kumar Singh currently holds Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Power, New and Renewable Energy and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He did Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in English Literature, LL.B. and Diploma in Management. He was educated at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, Magadh University and the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. Singh is also a 1975 batch Bihar cadre Indian Administrative Service officer and former Home Secretary of India.
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10. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank: Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who won from Haridwar and currently holds the Ministry of Education office also has a PhD and was educated at the Garhwal University in Uttarakhand. He was Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2009 to 2011. Pokhriyal has written novels, stories and poems. He has authored 44 books in Hindi, some of which have been translated to English as well as other Indian languages.
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