Pralhad Joshi Takes Additional Charge as Education Minister After Pradhan's Resignation

Pralhad Joshi took charge as the Union Minister for Education on Sunday, officials confirmed. He will hold the additional charge of the Education Ministry while continuing to serve as the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs.

In a statement on social media platform X, Joshi said, "Today, I assumed charge as the Union Minister for Education. I am grateful to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji for placing his faith in me and entrusting me with this responsibility. I accept it with humility and a deep sense of duty."

Joshi immediately chaired a review meeting of the ministry to assess the implementation of various schemes and initiatives. The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Singh, secretaries of both departments under the Ministry of Education, and other senior officials.

Joshi's appointment comes a day after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post on Saturday. Pradhan's resignation followed protests by opposition parties over the controversy surrounding the leak of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) question paper. In his resignation letter, Pradhan stated that the matter was not about "individual prestige" and that he was disturbed by the developments of the past ten days.