Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank takes over as Human Resource Development Minister;Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre takes over as Minister of State

NEW DELHI: The newly appointed Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, assumed charge of his office in Shastri Bhawan.nnOn his arrival at the Ministry of HRD in Shastri Bhawan, Pokhriyal was received by Secretary, Higher Education, R. Subramanyam and Secretary, School Education & Literacy Rina Rayand other senior officers of the Ministry.nnAfter assuming charge, Dr. Nishank held a meeting with the senior officers of the Ministry where he was briefed about the key initiatives of the Ministry.nnSpeaking on the occasion, the Minister emphasized on high quality standards in education, designing programs and policies relevant to the ground reality in our country and strengthening the implementation of educational programmes.nnDr. Nishank further said that strengthening the monitoring system and receiving actual feedback from the grass roots will help to achieve the goals of our programmes and policies better. It is not only important to have a vision but also a passion to implement the vision, he added.nnThe sixty year old MP, Dr Pokhriyal hails from Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Currently, he represents the Haridwar Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha.He also represented the 16th Lok Sabha and was member in several Parliamentary Committees during the same. He has also been active in state politics.nnHe was Member, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for three terms (1991 – 1992 & 1993-2000). He was the Minister of Development of Uttaranchal in Govt. of Uttar Pradesh (1997 ? 1998) and Minister of Culture and Religion, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh (1999 ? 2000). He has also beennnMinister of several key departments in Government of Uttarakhand and has served as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (Additional Charge).nnDr. Nishank is a writer of poems, stories and novels and has translated various books in more than 12 Indian and Foreign Languages. He is involved in various research works done on ?Nishank? Literature in Indian and Foreign Universities and his writings are included in the curriculum of Indian and Foreign Schools and Universities.nnHe has received Honorary Degree of DFC and D.Litt from International Open University Colombo. He also has Honorary Degree of Ph.D. and D.Litt. from various other Universities. He is also a recipient of ?Bharat Gaurav Samman? the highest Literary honour of Mauritius.nnSanjay Shamrao Dhotre takes over as Minister of State for Human Resource DevelopmentnnThe newly appointed Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, assumed charge of his office in Shastri Bhawan. On his arrival at the Ministry of HRD in Shastri Bhawan, Shri Dhotre was received by Secretary, Higher Education, R. Subramanyam and Secretary, School Education & Literacy Rina Ray and other senior officersvof the Ministry.nnAfter assuming the charge,the Minister also held a meeting with the senior officers of the Ministry where he was briefed on the key initiatives and policy issues of the Ministry.nnDhotre hails from Akola, Maharashtra. He is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and did his engineering from Government College of Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra. He is an AgriculturistnEngineer and Industrialist by profession. He is socially and culturally very active and participated actively in Art of Living and conducting Navchetana Shivir.nnDhotre has special interest in Reading, organic farming, spirituality, personality deveolpment, yoga, water conservation, infrastructure development in rural and semi-urban areas. His Favourite Pastime and Recreation is Reading and travelling.nnDhotre is 4th time MP in current 17th Lok Sabha and represent Akola parliamentary constituency. Before becoming Member of Parliament he was a Member of Maharshtra Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2004. First time he was elected as a Member of Parliament in 14th Lok Sabha in 2004.nnHe has held some key positions in various parliamentary committees. He was a Member of Standing Committee.nnDhotre was conferred Maharashtra Government Industry Award for excellent performance in 1987 and Late Shri Vasantrao Naik Memorial Award for outstanding work in agricultural sector.