Ashwini Vaishnaw

Ashwini was born in Jodhpur in 1970. He graduated from Jai Narayan Vyas University, Rajasthan in 1992 with a gold medal in electronic and communications engineering course and then completed his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur, before cracking IAS in 1994 with an all-India rank of 27.[2] In 2008, Vaishnaw left for US to do his MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[3]

Vaishnaw served as a collector in Balasore and Cuttack districts.[4] While a collector in Balasore district, National Human Rights Commission placed on record its appreciation of the sincerity, dedication and commitment displayed by Vaishnaw in organizing and executing relief and rehabilitation work in his district.[5]

In 1999, Odisha was hit by a super cyclone that killed thousands of people. Before the super cyclone hit the state, Vaishnaw logged into a US Navy website to track the path of the cyclone. He tracked the cyclone every hour and sent a report to the chief secretary at regular intervals, which became a major source of information for the Odisha government about the cyclone. This information helped government take necessary steps which saved many lives[6]

He worked in Odisha till 2003, when he was appointed as deputy secretary in the office of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. After his brief stint in the PMO where he contributed in creating the public-private-partnership framework in infrastructure projects, Vaishnaw was appointed as Vajpayee's private secretary after the BJP-led NDA lost election in 2004.[7]

In 2006, he became deputy chairman of Mormugao Port Trust, where he worked for next 2 years[8]

On completing MBA, Ashwini came back to India and joined GE Transportation as Managing Director.[9] Then he joined Siemens as the Vice President - Locomotives & Head Urban Infrastructure Strategy.[10]

In 2012, he quit the corporate sector and set up Three Tee Auto Logistics Private Limited and Vee Gee Auto Components Private Limited, both automotive components manufacturing units in Gujarat.[2]

He is currently Member of Indian Parliament representing Odisha State in the Rajya Sabha. He won the Rajya Sabha election unopposed with the help of Biju Janata Dal members in Odisha.[11][12] Vaishnaw was appointed as member of Committee on Subordinate Legislation and Petitions and Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests.[13][14]

Ashwini Vaishnaw has argued in Parliament that the current economic slowdown is cyclical in nature and is not a structural slowdown and that it is likely to bottom out by March and would be followed by solid growth. Vaishnaw firmly believes that the way to build the country is to put the money in investment rather than putting money in consumption.[15]

Vaishnaw has also supported the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 5 December 2019 in Rajya Sabha. He believes the step of reducing or rather rationalizing the tax structure will increase the competitiveness of Indian industry and will also develop the capital base of the Indian industry. While supporting he furthered argued that the particular rationalization of tax structure will help the corporates to de-leverage and increase the retained earnings and reserves and surplus which will lay the foundation of the structural growth of the economy.[16]

Apart from these, he has also spoken on issues ranging from Ship Recycling Bill to Women Protection in Rajya Sabha to further the public discourse in those issues.