Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister, guest at Express Adda today

A member of one of the most influential families in India’s political history, Scindia was earlier in the Congress party, where he held key portfolios in the UPA governments between 2004 and 2014. Since joining the BJP in 2020, he has been assigned key ministries and election strategy roles for the party.

At the Express Adda, he will be in conversation with Vandita Mishra, National Opinion Editor, The Indian Express, and Rishi Raj, Executive Editor, The Financial Express.

In 2020, Scindia had announced a shock resignation from the party, after believing that he was “unable to serve the people of my state, country anymore within Congress”. With him, more than 20 lawmakers quit Congress which was in power in the state, putting the Kamal Nath-led government on the brink of collapse. These exits paved the way for the BJP to come to power in the state.

Promptly, Scindia joined the BJP which earned him a national role, as a year later, he was appointed as the Union Civil Aviation Minister. He is also a member of the BJP Election Management Committee and the Core Committee of BJP in Madhya Pradesh.

With prior experience in the telecommunications department during his earlier stint as Minister of State in the UPA government between 2007 and 2009, Scindia has hit the ball rolling since taking over as Union Communications Minister in 2024.

Weeks after he took charge, he oversaw a spectrum auction which fetched over Rs 11,000 crore to the exchequer. Under him, some rules to operationalise parts of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 have been swiftly notified, with a number of other rules currently being consulted on. Scindia has also formed six stakeholder advisory panels for the telecom sector to understand key issues affecting the industry.

He has constituted committees for original equipment makers, telecom service providers, the satellite communications ecosystem, Internet service providers, electronics, and an advisory committee of academics and research and development in the telecommunications sector. They are represented by industry associations, private  firms, NITI Aayog, public sector undertakings (PSUs) as well as officials from the telecom department.

With Scindia leading telecom and the Development of North East Region Ministry, the push towards connectivity in the North-eastern region is widely expected to see a renewed push.

An ardent follower of cricket, Scindia has served as a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and as Chairman of the Finance Committee and member of the Disciplinary Committee of BCCI. For two years from 2014-16, he was a member of the Governing Council for the Indian Premier League (IPL).