Ananth Kumar

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For other similarly named people, see Ananth Kumar (disambiguation).

Ananth Kumar
The Leader of Opposition, BThe Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Ananthkumar, in New Delhi on January 08, 2015 (cropped).jpg
Ananth Kumar in 2017
Cabinet Minister
Government of India
In office
26 May 2014 – 12 November 2018
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Ministry
Term
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs5 July 2016 - 12 November 2018
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers26 May 2014 - 12 November 2018
In office
13 October 1999 – 12 July 2003
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Ministry
Term
Minister of Urban Development1 September 2001 - 12 July 2003
Minister of Tourism2 February 2000 - 1 September 2001
Minister of Culture13 October 1999 - 1 September 2001
Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports13 October 1999 - 2 February 2000
In office
19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Ministry
Term
Minister of Tourism30 January 1999 - 13 October 1999
Minister of Civil Aviation19 March 1998 - 13 October 1999
Member of Parliament
Lok Sabha
In office
1996–2018
Preceded byK. Venkatagiri Gowda
Succeeded byTejasvi Surya
ConstituencyBangalore South
President
Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka
In office
26 June 2003 – 31 December 2004
Preceded byB.S. Yediyurappa
Succeeded byJagadish Shettar
Personal details
Born
Hegannahalli Narayana Shastry Ananth Kumar

(1959-07-22)22 July 1959
Bangalore, Mysore State, (now in Karnataka) India
Died12 November 2018(2018-11-12) (aged 59)[1]
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)
Tejaswini Kumar
​
​
(m. 1989⁠–⁠2018)​
ChildrenAishwarya Ananth Kumar, Vijeta
Alma materKarnatak University
Websiteananth.org

Hegannahalli Narayana Shastry Ananth Kumar (22 July 1959 – 12 November 2018)[2] was an Indian senior BJP politician. He was the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Parliamentary Affairs of India from 2014 till his death in 2018.Sri Ananth Kumar was an MP from South Bengaluru 6 times, Minister of Chemicals and fertilizers from 26 May 2014, and Parliamentary affairs from 2016. He was a member of the Parliament for over two decades, having been elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, from Bengaluru South, from 1996 till his death.[3] He also served as Minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism, Sports, Urban Development, and Poverty Alleviation.[4]

[5]Early life[]

Sri Ananth Kumar was born in Bangalore, Sheshadripuram, Karnataka, and moved to Hubli in 1979.[6] His father, H. N. Narayan Shastry, was employed with the Indian Railways. His family settled in Hubli in 1979–80. His mother Smt Girija Shastry was a social worker associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. She served as the deputy mayor of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation between 1985 and 1986. Kumar completed his matriculation in Lamington School and pre-university course in science PC Jabin College in Hubli. He earned bachelor's degree in arts from Kadasiddeshwar Arts College, affiliated to the Karnatak University, and in Laws from JSS Law college, both in Hubli.[7]

Kumar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1973 and took part in the movement started by Jayaprakash Narayan the following year. He was jailed in the Hubli sub-jail for a period of over 40 days during the emergency.[8][7]

Politics[]

Ananth Kumar was a member of RSS' student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was elected as the State Secretary of the ABVP. He later became its National Secretary in 1985. In 1987, he joined BJP and was nominated as the State President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.[8] He was then made National Secretary of the party in 1996.[9]

Ananth Kumar was elected from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996. He was re-elected and was inducted into the Second Vajpayee ministry. In 1999, he was re-elected to a third consecutive term and became a cabinet minister in the National Democratic Alliance government. He handled various ministries like Tourism, Sports & Youth Affairs, Culture, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.[9]

Ananth Kumar became the President of the Karnataka state unit of BJP in 2003. It became the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly and won the majority number of Lok Sabha seats in 2004 in Karnataka. In 2004, he was appointed National General Secretary of the BJP.

On 26 May 2014, Kumar was appointed Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in the cabinet of the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[10] In the 2016 reshuffle, he was given the additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs.[11]

Lok Sabha Electoral Performance[]

Year Winner Party Losing candidate Party
2014 Ananth Kumar BJP Nandan Nilekani INC
2009 Ananth Kumar BJP K Byre Gowda INC
2004 Ananth Kumar BJP Krishnappa M INC
1999 Ananth Kumar BJP B K Hariprasad INC
1998 Ananth Kumar BJP D P Sharma INC
1996 Ananth Kumar BJP Varalakshmi Gundu Rao INC

Governance[]

As the minister for chemicals and fertilizers, Kumar implemented 100% mandatory neem-coating of urea, in a move that was expected to save ₹ 6,500 crore annually in government subsidy or about ₹ 10,000 in total,[12] by stopping diversion for industrial usage, apart from additional benefit of slowing the release of nitrogen, thus reducing the overall consumption.[13]

Ananth Kumar mandated price reduction by 69% on Knee Implants- from ₹1.5 to 2.5 lakh to the new price of ₹54,500.[14] Under his guidance, number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras increased to over 4300 all over India (as on 1 Nov 2018) from 89 in May 2014.[15] He launched Suvidha – Bio-degradable & environment friendly sanitary pads at just ₹2.50 per piece from 5 June 2018, on the occasion of International women's day (8th Mar 2018). [16]

He launched an initiative to revive 6 closed fertilizer plants with over 48,000 cr investment, along with coal and oil & natural gas ministry.[17][18]

Personal life[]

Social work[]

He along with his wife, Tejaswini, founded Foundation, a nonprofit organisation for social service. It was setup in 1998 in memory of Girija Shastry, mother of Ananth Kumar.[1] It supports underprivileged children with food in schools through the Midday Meal Scheme.[19] About 2,00,000 meals are served daily.[20]

He launched the initiative Green Bengaluru 1:1 as part of his larger initiative Sasyagraha,[21] to achieve 1 tree per human ratio, from the current 7 humans per tree as against the ideal 7 trees per human per research by IISc. EcoChetana initiative was to promote GreenLifeStyle in the state of Karnataka.[22][23]

As part of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Ananth Kumar had adopted the Ragihalli village.[24]

Death[]

On 12 November 2018 he died due to pancreatic cancer and other related complications.[25] He is survived by his wife, Tejaswini, and his two daughters, Aishwarya and Vijeta.[26][27]

References[]

  1. ^ a b K R Balasubramanyam (12 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar: Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  2. ^ Moudgal, Sandeep (12 November 2018). "Union minister Ananth Kumar passes away at 59 in Bengaluru". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  3. ^ Dutta, Prabhash K. (12 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar never lost an election in 22 years". India Today. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  4. ^ PTI. "Ananth Kumar, a staunch RSS man, known for political adroitness". @businessline. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  5. ^ PTI. "Ananth Kumar, a staunch RSS man, known for political adroitness". @businessline. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Who was Ananth Kumar". The Indian Express. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b Kattimani, Basavaraj (13 November 2018). "Hubballi shaped political career of Ananth Kumar". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b Pattanashetti, Girish (13 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar had his initiation into politics in Hubballi". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Narendra Modi government: Full list of portfolios and ministers". The Indian Express. 27 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Union minister Ananth Kumar passes away". 13 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Neem coated urea to stop divergence for industrial use: Government". The Economic Times. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  13. ^ Datta, Kanika (16 February 2016). "Neem-coated truth: Urea policy isn't a game-changer". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Knee implants to cost up to 69% less as government caps prices - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Jan aushadhi".
  16. ^ "Union Minister Ananth Kumar launches biodegradable sanitary napkins in Bengaluru". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  17. ^ "India on road to end fertilizer imports by 2020-21 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  18. ^ "20 bills passed by both houses; most productive for Lok Sabha since 2000". The Financial Express. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Adamya Chetana – Anna Akshara Arogya". Adamyachetana.org. Retrieved 14 October 2018.[self-published source]
  20. ^ "'Our Annapoorna kitchens are paathshaalas, prayogashaalas too'". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  21. ^ BN, Janardhan. "Central Minister Shri. Ananthkumar launches 'SASYAGRAHA' as a Nationwide Movement". Bangalore News Network. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Green Bengaluru 1:1 – Adamya Chetana". Adamyachetana.org. Retrieved 14 October 2018.[self-published source]
  23. ^ NewsKarnataka. "Adamya Chetana launches Sasyagraha in Bengaluru". NewsKarnataka. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  24. ^ "ರಾಗಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ಗ್ರಾಪಂ ದತ್ತು ಪಡೆದ ಅನಂತಕುಮಾರ್". Kannada.oneindia.com. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  25. ^ "Ananth Kumar passes away LIVE UPDATES: PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi express grief". 12 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away; holiday in schools, colleges in Karnataka today". Times Now News. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  27. ^ "The ever smiling Ananth Kumar: From a whisper in Karnataka to becoming it's voice in the Centre". Newsd www.newsd.in. Retrieved 12 November 2018.

External links[]

Lok Sabha
Preceded by
o| style="width: 30%; text-align: center;" rowspan="1"| Succeeded by
Tejasvi Surya
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Civil Aviation
19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Tourism
30 January 1999 – 13 October 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Tourism
2 February 2000 – 1 September 2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Srikant Kumar Jena
Minister of State
(Independent Charge)
 Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
26 May 2014 – 12 November 2018 		Succeeded by
D. V. Sadananda Gowda
Preceded by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
5 July 2016 – 12 November 2018 		Succeeded by
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