Dinesh Trivedi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dinesh Trivedi
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Trivedi at a press conference in New Delhi on the modernization of Indian Railways, September 2011
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| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 April 2020 – 12 February 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Ahmed Hassan Imran |
| Succeeded by | Jawhar Sircar |
| Constituency | West Bengal |
| In office 2002–2008 |
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| Constituency | West Bengal |
| In office 1990–1996 |
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| Constituency | Gujarat |
| Minister of Railways, Government of India | |
| In office 13 July 2011 – 18 March 2012 |
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| President | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Mamata Banerjee |
| Succeeded by | Mukul Roy |
| Minister of State for Health and Family Welfares, Government of India | |
| In office 22 May 2009 – 13 July 2011 |
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| President | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Minister | Ghulam Nabi Azad |
| Preceded by | Panabaka Lakshmi (independent charge) |
| Succeeded by | Sudip Bandyopadhyay |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 16 May 2009 – 23 May 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Tarit Baran Topdar |
| Succeeded by | Arjun Singh |
| Constituency | Barrackpore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 June 1950 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Trinamool Congress (1998–2021) Janata Dal (1990–1998) Indian National Congress (1980–1990) |
| Spouse | Minal Trivedi |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (BCom) University of Texas, Austin (MBA) |
| Profession | Pilot |
Dinesh Trivedi (born 4 June 1950) is an Indian politician. He has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in both the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House) and the Lok Sabha (the Lower House) of the Indian Parliament. He represented West Bengal and Gujarat during his time in the Rajya Sabha. From 2009 to 2019, he was an MP for the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal.
Mr. Trivedi also held important government positions. He was the Union Minister for Railways and the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in the government led by Manmohan Singh. He received the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2016–17, which is a special honor for lawmakers. He is also involved in international groups like the Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum.
In February 2021, Mr. Trivedi left the Trinamool Congress party and resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat. He then joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in March 2021.
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Early Life and Education
Dinesh Trivedi was born in New Delhi, India, on June 4, 1950. His parents, Hiralal and Urmilaben Trivedi, moved to India from Karachi during the time of India's partition. His father worked for the Hindustan Construction Company in Kolkata.
Dinesh Trivedi went to boarding schools in Himachal Pradesh. He later earned a degree in commerce from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. He then went on to get his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of Texas at Austin in the United States.
He had a childhood dream of flying for the Indian Air Force and even trained to be a pilot. Besides his studies and career, he is also a trained sitar player and enjoys classical music.
Early Career and Public Service
After finishing his MBA in 1974, Mr. Trivedi worked in Chicago for two years. He then returned to India and worked for a logistics company. In 1984, he started his own air freight company in Kolkata. He also set up a center to help protect consumers.
Mr. Trivedi became well-known for filing many petitions, which are formal requests to a court. He once asked the Supreme Court of India to make a report about crime in politics public. This action helped push forward the Right to Information movement, which allows citizens to ask for information from the government.
Career as a Politician
Dinesh Trivedi began his political journey with the Indian National Congress party in the 1980s. He later joined the Janata Dal party in 1990. In 1998, he became one of the first members of the Trinamool Congress party, started by Mamata Banerjee, and served as its first general secretary.
He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) from 1990 to 1996, representing Gujarat. He was again a Rajya Sabha member from 2002 to 2008, this time from West Bengal. In the 2009 elections, he won a seat in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) from Barrackpore.
In 2009, he joined the government as the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. In 2011, when Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mr. Trivedi was appointed the Cabinet Minister for Railways. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Election, he lost his seat from Barrackpore. After this, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha again, but later left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP.
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As Railway Minister
As the Railway Minister, Dinesh Trivedi suggested creating a special group to set train fares. He wanted to make the railways less political and improve the Indian Railways Board. He believed that the railways could help India's economy grow by 2%.
He felt that train fares needed to be increased to modernize the railway system, even if his party disagreed. He also wanted a national policy for railways that would stay the same no matter which political party was in power. He was open to the idea of private companies helping fund the railways to improve the system.
Mr. Trivedi resigned as Railway Minister on March 18, 2012. This happened a few days after he presented his first Railway Budget, in which he increased passenger fares. This decision was not supported by his political party, the Trinamool Congress, and its leader, Mamata Banerjee.
He was also interested in starting high-speed passenger trains in India, possibly with help from Japan or France. An interesting fact is that during the filming of the James Bond film Skyfall in India, Mr. Trivedi insisted that scenes showing people traveling on train roofs be changed, as it is illegal.
Personal Life
Dinesh Trivedi is married to Minal Trivedi, who has a PhD in genetics. They have one son.
Positions Held
| Position | Details |
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| Member of Rajya Sabha | From Gujarat (1990–1996) and West Bengal (2002–2008; 2020–2021) |
| Member of Lok Sabha | From Barrackpore, West Bengal (2009–2019) |
| Chairman | Passengers Amenities Committee, Ministry of Railways |
| Member | Committee on Rules |
| Member | Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| Member | Committee on Finance |
| Member | Committee on Commerce |
| Vice-Chairman | Rajya Sabha |
Forums and International Involvement
Dinesh Trivedi has been a part of several important forums, which are groups that bring together people for discussions and cooperation. He was the Chairman of the Indo-EU Parliamentarians Forum, which helps connect lawmakers from India and the European Union. He has also been a member of forums that promote ties between Indian Parliament members and those from countries like America, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. These roles show his involvement in international relations and diplomacy.
