Manish Sisodia

Manish Sisodia (born 2 February 1972) is an Indian politician and Deputy Chief Minister of Government of Delhi. He has been the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. He is also an elected (third consecutive term) MLA from Patparganj constituency.[1] In Government of NCT of Delhi, he holds the portfolios of Education, Higher Education, Technical Education, Finance, Planning, Excise, GST, Vigilance, Services, Tourism, Land & Building, Art, Culture & Language. [2]

Manish Sisodia
Manish Sisodia
1st Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi
Assumed office
14 February 2015
Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal
Preceded byPost created
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
for Patparganj
Assumed office
10 February 2015
Preceded byPresident's Rule
In office
8 December 2013  10 February 2014
Preceded byAnil Kumar Choudhary
Succeeded byPresident's Rule
Personal details
Born (1972-01-05) 5 January 1972
Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political partyAam Aadmi Party
Alma materBharatiya Vidya Bhavan
PortfolioCabinet Minister of Education, Higher Education, Technical Education, Finance, Planning, Excise, GST, Vigilance, Services, Tourism, Land & Building, Art, Culture & Language

Previously, he was a cabinet minister in the Government of NCT of Delhi between December 2013 and February 2014. Prior to being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Delhi in December 2013, Sisodia was a social activist and journalist. He is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party, and is also a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Sisodia has written a book Shiksha: My Experiments as an Education Minister, which chronicles the journey of education reforms in Delhi and has received wide acclaim for its practical insights on education transformation.[3]

Early life and career

Manish Sisodia was born in a Rajput family[4] of Phagauta village in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh. Born to a father who was a public school teacher, he was enrolled into the government school in his village. Later, he commenced his career as a journalist after completing a diploma in journalism,[5] awarded by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1993. Manish Sisodia also worked as radio jockey in FM radio station during his early career. He used to host several programs like "Zero Hour" for All India Radio in 1996 and then worked for Zee News as a reporter, news producer and news reader between 1997 and 2005.[6]

Activism

Sisodia's association with the Chief Minister of Delhi and AAP's founding chief Arvind Kejriwal goes back to their time together as leaders of the non-profit Parivartan, founded by the latter to take up cases of citizens who struggled to engage with the government without paying hefty bribes to officials. After formally quitting journalism, Sisodia along with Kejriwal founded Kabir, a non-profit that organised public hearings with government officials and people. He was one of the key members of the group that drafted the Right to Information Act.[7]

Subsequently, Sisodia became a key participant in the Anna Hazare led India Against Corruption movement of 2011 that sought a Jan Lokpal bill. He was involved in drafting the first version of that proposed legislation and was jailed for his involvement in protests.[8]

Political career

Manish Sisodia won the 2020 Delhi Vidhan Sabha election by defeating Ravi Negi in Patparganj Constituency

Sisodia was one of the key founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He became a member of its Political Affairs Committee. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the December 2013 Delhi Assembly election, when he defeated Nakul Bhardwaj, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, by 11,476 votes in the Patparganj constituency of East Delhi.[9][10] In the February 2015 Delhi Assembly election, which resulted in a landslide victory for AAP, he was again elected from Patparganj, defeating Vinod Kumar Binny of the Bharatiya Janata Party by over 28,761 votes.[11] In 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, he again defeated Ravinder Singh Negi, a BJP candidate by over 3000 votes.[12]

Education reforms

When the AAP came to power in Delhi, Sisodia decided to bring in radical reforms to the ailing public education system. One of the first decisions he took as Delhi's Finance Minister in 2015 was to double the funding for the public education program. Every year since then, the Delhi government has allocated a quarter of its total budget to education, making it the highest proportion in the country.[13] One of the most visible hallmarks of these reforms is the reconstructed building infrastructure: modern classrooms equipped with tech-based teaching aids, and also football fields, field hockey turfs, auditoriums and science laboratories.[14] Delhi also has parent-led School Management Committees (School Boards), creating accountability structures within the communities that the school serves.[15] Delhi government has successfully conducted several mega PTMs (Parent Teacher Meetings) which provided a space for the teachers and parents to engage in meaningful conversations for the betterment of students.[16]

Under Sisodia's leadership, many interventions have happened inside the classrooms. Advanced teacher training modules that encourage educators to focus on learning outcomes have significantly bridged the learning deficit. Government runs a statewide program, Mission Buniyaad, to improve the foundational learning outcomes of the students.[17] Sisodia has experimented with new age curricula viz Happiness Curriculum and Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum which instill values and skills in the students and prepare them to live a happy, meaningful and productive life.[18]

As a result of Sisodia's efforts, Delhi's education system has seen many positive changes. Since 2016, Delhi government schools have performed better than the private schools in 12th board examinations.[19] There was a 20 per cent increase in the number of students between class three and five who can solve arithmetic division problems because of the effective implementation of Mission Buniyaad.[20] Around 8 lakh students attend daily Happiness Classes, while around 7 lakh students are attending Entrepreneurship Classes which are impacting their mindsets and behaviour positively.[21][22]

In 2018, he delivered the keynote address at the Harvard India Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School on the Government's Education and Healthcare reforms.[23] In 2017, he presented the Delhi Education model at the Global Education conference in Moscow, in front of educationists from 70 countries.[24]

Economic reforms

During Sisodia's tenure as the Finance Minister in Delhi, the government's budget has almost doubled in 5 years - from ₹31,000 crore in 2014–15 to ₹60,000 crore in 2019-20[24]. Such an increase was possible due to an increase in the tax base by ending the “Raid Raj” and plugging leaks.[25] Sisodia has also started one of its kind Outcome Budget, which is one of the most comprehensive in India linking public spending to over 2,200 output indicators and 1,549 outcome indicators across 39 departments.[26] This is considered as a revolutionary step in improving the political accountability of public finance.

Political and social views

In his budget speech for 2016–17, Sisodia said that the aim of the government is not spending the allocated money, but ensuring that every rupee spent makes a difference in the lives of the people.[27] He has said that elections should be fought on the agendas of education and health and not on caste and religion.[28]

At the World Education Conference in Moscow in 2018, Sisodia said that the real contribution to society is the building of a quality education system in the country and the task of education is to equip the students to address present-day challenges, including terrorism, pollution, corruption and gender discrimination.[29] In 2019, he said that students should be enabled to become job providers rather than job seekers.[30] He has also said that India needs an education system which ensures a high minimum quality of education to all its students and not just 5% students who can afford to pay for it.[31]

Awards and recognition

References

  1. "Manish Sisodia - Patparganj election results: Close fight for Manish Sisodia". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. "Delhi Government". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. DelhiSeptember 6, Press Trust of India New. "Education is foundation for happiness of people and is as important as GDP of a country: Pranab Mukherjee". India Today. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. "Manish Sisodia will watch film with Rajputs". The Asian Age. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  5. "Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia's journey from journalist to number 2 in Kejriwal's Cabinet - IBNLive". web.archive.org. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. "What makes Manish Sisodia the man in charge of Delhi". Governance Now. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  7. Jeelani, Mehboob. "Can India's landmark Right to Information Act ever live up to its promise?". The Caravan. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. "Manish Sisodia: From journalist to Kejriwal's Man Friday". The Hindu. PTI. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  9. "Manish Sisodia: From journalist to Kejriwal's Man Friday". The Hindu. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. "Constituency Wise Result Status". web.archive.org. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  11. Writer, Oneindia Staff (10 February 2015). "Delhi poll results 2015 Updates: AAP makes an impressive comeback with 67 seats". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  12. "Deputy CM Manish Sisodia clinches Patparganj thriller".
  13. February 27, India Today Web Desk. "Delhi budget 2019-20: Highest share of 26% allocated to education sector". India Today. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  14. Moorthy, R. v (22 September 2019). "Delhi government schools make a difference". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  15. Indian, The Logical (20 October 2018). "School Management Committee - Delhi Govt's Initiative To Involve Parents In Decision Making Of Schools". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  16. DelhiJuly 12, India Today Web Desk New. "Delhi government conducts Mega PTM in 1,041 schools". India Today. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  17. Bhanj, Jaideep Deo (12 April 2018). "'Mission Buniyaad' launched". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  18. "Explained: What is Delhi's 'happiness class', and how is it implemented?". The Indian Express. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  19. "Delhi Government school students post best- ever results in CBSE, 94%sail through". Hindustan Times. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  20. India, Press Trust of (7 December 2019). "Focus should be on strengthening foundational learning skills among kids: DCPCR". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  21. "'Happiness curriculum' to be introduced in over 1,000 Delhi govt schools for eight lakh students between Nursery and Class 8 - India News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  22. Bedi, Aneesha (27 June 2019). "Kejriwal wants govt school kids to become entrepreneurs, lessons begin from class 9". ThePrint. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  23. Feb 12, TNN /. "Manish Sisodia: Manish Sisodia talks of Delhi governance model at Harvard | Delhi News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  24. "Sisodia showcases Delhi education model at conference in Moscow". www.millenniumpost.in. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  25. India, Press Trust of (24 September 2019). "AAP rule ended 'raid raj', boosted people's faith in Delhi govt: Kejriwal". Business Standard India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  26. Jun 8, TNN / Updated. "Delhi: AAP government releases Outcome Budget for 2019-2020 | Delhi News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  27. DESHMANE, AKSHAY. "Delhi Budget: AAP government to spend more than half on Health, Education, & Transport". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  28. ""When We Joined Politics, People Said...": Manish Sisodia On AAP's Rise". NDTV.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  29. Sharma, Shailendra (12 February 2020). "The Delhi model of education". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  30. "Happiness curriculum to answer problems: Manish Sisodia". The Asian Age. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  31. "Be job-providers not job-seekers: Sisodia to DTU students". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  32. "#ie100: Narendra Modi to Ravish Kumar, the most powerful Indians". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  33. "100: Narendra Modi to Ravish Kumar, the most powerful Indians". The Indian Express. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  34. "Dr Beerinder Singh Yogi wins Champions of Change Award". www.aninews.in.
Political offices
Preceded by
Post Created
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi
28 December 2013
Incumbent
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Anil Kumar Choudhary
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
from Patparganj (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

2013
Incumbent
Aam Aadmi Party political offices
New political party Member of Political Affairs Committee of AAP
2012 – present
Incumbent
New political party Member of National Executive Committee of AAP
2012 – present
Incumbent
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