Pralhad Joshi Appointed as India's New Education Minister

Pralhad Joshi was appointed as India's Union Education Minister on July 25, 2026, in New Delhi. The appointment came after Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down from the post following weeks of youth-led protests across the country over the NEET-UG exam leak issue, a movement that had grown into a major political challenge for the central government. Pralhad Joshi now takes charge of the ministry overseeing school and higher education policy nationwide.

Who is India's new education minister Pralhad Joshi?

1. Pralhad Joshi was born in 1962 in Bijapur, Karnataka. He completed his graduation in arts from KS Arts College, Hubballi, affiliated with Karnataka University. 

2. After his studies, he set up a chemicals business.

3. He has an interest in public life through his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu volunteer organisation established in 1925 in Nagpur by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.

Political Career of Pralhad Joshi

Joshi headed the party's Dharwad district unit in 1998 and went on to lead its Karnataka state unit by 2014. He entered the Union Cabinet in May 2019, handling Parliamentary Affairs, Coal, and Mines, and introduced coal-production reforms in 2024. In 2025, he was given charge of New and Renewable Energy along with Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution before his latest move to Education in 2026.