Bhubaneswar, June 10: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reassigning him the role of Minister of Education in Modi 3.0 government.

"Grateful to Hon. PM @narendramodi ji for reassigning me the role of Minister of Education in Modi 3.0. A vibrant knowledge vertical will be one of the strongest pillars of Viksit Bharat. Under PM Modi’s guidance, @EduMinOfIndia will continue to redefine and transform the education landscape for empowering India’s population, establishing India as a knowledge economy of the 21st century and achieving the goal of Shikshit and Viksit Bharat," Pradhan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Pradhan, newly elected Lok Sabha MP from Sambalpur, took oath as a Union Minister in the Narendra Modi 3.0 Cabinet yesterday.

In 2012, Pradhan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar. When Narendra Modi swept to power in the 2014 general election, Pradhan was made the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with independent charge. He was later promoted to the Cabinet and given additional charge of Skill Development in Sept 2017.

The BJP leader was appointed as the Union Education Minister in 2021 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term from 2019-2024. He successfully implemented the New Education Policy.

Popularly known as the 'Ujjwala' man, Pradhan is credited with being the longest serving Union Minister for Petroleum And Natural Gas.

His efforts have been instrumental in the BJP’s electoral triumphs in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha in 2024, analysts said.