A Member of Parliament from Dharwad, Karnataka, serving his fifth consecutive term in the Lok Sabha. He is a Union Cabinet Minister holding the portfolios of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; New and Renewable Energy; and Education.
Documented factHistorical context
Name
Pralhad Joshi
Born
27 November 1962, Vijayapura, Karnataka
Education
B.A. — K.S. Arts College, Hubballi; Karnatak University, Dharwad
Constituency
Dharwad, Karnataka (Lok Sabha)
Lok Sabha
14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th
Offices
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution; New & Renewable Energy; Education
Address
Hubballi, Karnataka (permanent address on record)
Level 01 · Profile
Profile
Documented fact
Pralhad Joshi is a Union Cabinet Minister and the Member of Parliament for Dharwad in north Karnataka. The official Lok Sabha record lists him as a member of the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th Lok Sabhas. He was first elected in 2004 from the Dharwad North constituency and has represented Dharwad since 2009.
His ministerial career began on 30 May 2019, when he was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister and allocated Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines. In June 2024 he was allocated Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy. In July 2026 he was also assigned the Ministry of Education.
His official ministerial profile records other details: his profession as industrialist; that he is Honorary Chairman of the Vijayanagar Education Society, Hubballi, and a Board Member of the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries; that he wrote a Kannada book, Sadhaneya Sankalpa; and that his interests include Hindustani classical music, chess, badminton and carrom.
Addressing an event from a lectern bearing the State Emblem of India.File photo
These details come from the Lok Sabha member record and the official ministerial profile. This website does not publish information about family members beyond what those records state.
The Lok Sabha record gives his educational qualification as B.A. and states that he was educated at K.S. Arts College, Hubballi and Karnatak University, Dharwad. It does not record the year of graduation, and this website does not state one.
Karnatak University was established by the Bombay legislature of the former Bombay Presidency through the Karnatak University Act, 1949. It became a statutory university on 1 March 1950. Dharwad, its home, is known as the academic and cultural centre of the twin cities of Hubballi–Dharwad.
According to his official profile, his first recorded organisational office was President of the BJP’s Dharwad District unit, from 1995 to 1998. He was then the district unit’s General Secretary from 1998 to 2003. He also took part in civic and business bodies in Hubballi, including the Vijayanagar Education Society and the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Press accounts of his early career often cite the agitation of the early 1990s over hoisting the national flag at the Idgah Maidan in Hubballi. The ownership of the ground was then before the courts. The News Minute reported that he was among a group that attempted to hoist the flag there on 15 August 1994, defying prohibitory orders. This website records the episode as it was reported and draws no conclusions from it.
2006–13General Secretary, BJP Karnataka State unit
2013–16President, BJP Karnataka State unit
Contemporary reports record that he was appointed President of the party’s Karnataka unit in March 2013. The tenure ended in April 2016, when B.S. Yeddyurappa was appointed to the post. This website lists party offices as part of the factual record and makes no assessment of them.
He has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times in a row: from Dharwad North in 2004, and from Dharwad in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. His profile also records that he was a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly in December 2008, and of a parliamentary delegation in April 2012.
Committee record (before 2019)
2006Member, Standing Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers; Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf
2007Member, Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism & Culture
2009Member, Standing Committee on Railways
2010Member, Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House
2014–19Member, Panel of Chairpersons, Lok Sabha
2014–19Member, Business Advisory Committee; Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
2014–19Chairperson, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas
He was sworn in on 30 May 2019. The Cabinet Secretariat list of 31 May 2019 records him as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of Coal and Minister of Mines. As Parliamentary Affairs Minister he coordinated the government’s legislative business in both Houses throughout the 17th Lok Sabha. The Ministry reported that 221 Bills were passed by both Houses during that Lok Sabha.
In coal and mines, PIB records include the launch of the auction of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining in June 2020, inaugurated by the Prime Minister. They also include the Ministry of Coal’s report of 997.83 million tonnes of coal produced in 2023-24, and the first tranche of critical and strategic mineral auctions in November 2023, which followed the 2023 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.
2024 onward
After taking the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 9 June 2024, he was allocated Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy on 10 June 2024. He took charge of both ministries on 11 June 2024.
Taking the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan, 9 June 2024.File photo
The Cabinet Secretariat’s list of the Union Council of Ministers dated 25 July 2026 records him as “Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Minister of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of Education”. He is also listed as a member of the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.
Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Ministers of State: B.L. Verma; Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya.
