Manish Sisodia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Manish Sisodia
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Official portrait, 2020
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| 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi | |||||||||||||
| In office 14 February 2015 – 28 February 2023 |
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| Lieutenant Governor |
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| Chief Minister | Arvind Kejriwal | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | position established | ||||||||||||
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| Member of Delhi Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 10 February 2015 |
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| Preceded by | President's Rule | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Patparganj | ||||||||||||
| In office 8 December 2013 – 10 February 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Anil Kumar Choudhary | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | President's Rule | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Patparganj | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 5 January 1972 Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Political party | Aam Aadmi Party | ||||||||||||
| Spouse | Seema Sisodia | ||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Residence | AB-17, Mathura Road, East Delhi | ||||||||||||
| Education | DJMC | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | |||||||||||||
Manish Sisodia (born 5 January 1972) is an Indian politician and former journalist. He served as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi from 2015 to 2023. He represented the Patparganj area in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He was a member of the Assembly from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2015 onwards. Mr. Sisodia is one of the people who helped start the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He is also a member of its important National Executive Committee.
He was a cabinet minister in the Government of Delhi from 2013 to 2014. After becoming Deputy Chief Minister, he held many other important roles. One of his key roles was Education Minister. He is known for making big changes to public schools in Delhi. He later stepped down from his government roles due to an ongoing investigation. He was held for a period but was later granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on 9 August 2024.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Manish Sisodia was born on January 5, 1972. His family lived in Phagauta village in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. His father was a teacher at a public school. Manish Sisodia also went to a government school in his village.
He studied journalism and earned a diploma from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1993. After finishing his studies, he started his career as a journalist. He worked as a radio jockey for an FM radio station. In 1996, he hosted shows like "Zero Hour" for All India Radio. Later, from 1997 to 2005, he worked for Zee News. There, he was a reporter, news producer, and news reader.
Working for Change
Manish Sisodia worked closely with Arvind Kejriwal, who later became the Chief Minister of Delhi. They both led a non-profit group called Parivartan. This group helped people who had trouble dealing with the government.
After leaving journalism, Sisodia and Kejriwal started another non-profit called Kabir. This group held public meetings where government officials and citizens could talk. Sisodia was also a key person in creating the first version of the Right to Information Act. This law helps people get information from the government.
Later, Sisodia was a big part of the Anna Hazare-led movement in 2011. This movement, called India Against Corruption, wanted a new law called the Jan Lokpal bill. This bill aimed to fight corruption. Sisodia helped write the first draft of this proposed law. He was also jailed for taking part in protests related to the movement.
Political Journey
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Manish Sisodia was one of the main people who started the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He became a member of the party's Political Affairs Committee. This committee makes important decisions for the party.
In December 2013, he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Delhi. He won against Nakul Bhardwaj from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Patparganj Assembly constituency. He won by more than 11,000 votes.
In February 2015, AAP won a huge victory in the Delhi Assembly election. Sisodia was re-elected from Patparganj. He defeated Vinod Kumar Binny by over 28,000 votes. In the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, he won again. This time, he defeated Ravinder Singh Negi by over 3,000 votes.
Cabinet Minister in Delhi
Manish Sisodia served as a cabinet minister in all three governments led by Arvind Kejriwal. During the Third Kejriwal Ministry, he was in charge of several important government departments. These included:
- Finance
- Education
- Tourism
- Public Works Department (PWD)
- Labour
- Planning
- Land & Building
- Vigilance (keeping an eye on fairness)
- Services
- Art
- Culture
- Language
He resigned from his cabinet roles on 28 February 2023. This happened after he was held for an investigation.
As a Cabinet Minister
Education Reforms
When the AAP government came to power in Delhi, Sisodia decided to improve the public education system. One of his first decisions as Finance Minister in 2015 was to double the money for public education. Every year since then, the Delhi government has spent a large part of its budget on education. This is the highest amount in India.
One of the biggest changes was the new school buildings. They have modern classrooms with technology for teaching. Many schools also got football fields, hockey fields, auditoriums, and science labs. Delhi also has School Management Committees led by parents. These groups help make schools accountable to their communities. The Delhi government has held many large Parent Teacher Meetings (PTMs). These meetings help teachers and parents talk about how to help students learn better.
Under Sisodia's leadership, many new things happened inside classrooms. Teachers received advanced training to help them focus on what students learn. The government started a program called Mission Buniyaad. This program helps improve basic learning skills for students. Sisodia also tried new types of lessons. These include the Happiness Curriculum, Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum, and Deshbhakti Curriculum. These lessons teach students values and skills. They help students live happy, meaningful, and productive lives. These lessons are now used in all government schools and some private schools in Delhi. They help students develop the right mindset.
Manish Sisodia also started a student entrepreneurship program called “Business Blasters”. This program helps students learn to create their own businesses. Each student gets some money to start their business. It involves field projects, interviews, and talking with real entrepreneurs. In the first year, 126 students showed their businesses at an expo in 2022.
In 2018, he gave a speech at the Harvard India Conference. He talked about the government's education and healthcare changes. In 2017, he shared the Delhi Education model at a conference in Moscow. Education experts from 70 countries were there.
In December 2021, Manish Sisodia presented the Mindset Curricula at a summit in Dubai. In May 2022, he spoke at the Education World Forum in London. He shared how Delhi people regained trust in government schools.
In 2021, he supported students who wanted to cancel the CBSE Board Exam for Class 10. This was because of rising COVID-19 cases. In August 2022, his education policy was praised by The New York Times.
Sisodia has also written a book called 'Shiksha: My Experiments as an Education Minister'. This book tells the story of education changes in Delhi.
Higher and Technical Education Reforms
Manish Sisodia also made big changes in higher education. He helped create three new state universities. These are the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) in 2020, the Delhi Sports University (DSU) in 2021, and the Delhi Teachers University in 2022. Also, the number of places for students in state universities has greatly increased. This allows more students to attend.
Delhi University College Funding
In 2020, there was a disagreement about money at some Delhi University colleges. Sisodia said that four colleges were not using their funds correctly. These colleges were Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.
The colleges, which receive money from the Delhi government, said they did not have enough money to pay salaries. Sisodia said that some colleges were keeping money in special accounts instead of using it. He claimed these four colleges had misused government grants.
The leaders of these colleges denied the claims. They said the money Sisodia mentioned was from "Student's Society Fund." This money is for student welfare, hostel care, and helping students find jobs. They said this money could not be used for staff salaries. The colleges said Sisodia's claims were not true and were politically motivated. They explained their difficult financial situation. After three months, the Delhi Government approved funds for employee salaries. This event showed the challenges between the Delhi government and the university colleges.
Economic Reforms
During Sisodia's time as Finance Minister, Delhi's government budget grew a lot. It more than doubled in seven years. This happened because more people paid taxes. Also, the government stopped some ways money was being lost.
Sisodia also started something called the Outcome Budget. This budget links government spending to what actually gets done. It tracks over 2,200 results and 1,549 goals across 39 departments. This is seen as a big step in making public spending more accountable. He is the only finance minister in any state to have presented eight budgets in a row.
On 26 March 2022, he presented a budget of ₹75,800 crore (about 10 billion US dollars). AAP leaders hoped this budget would create jobs for 20 lakh (2 million) people in Delhi.
Views on Politics and Society
In his budget speech for 2016–17, Sisodia said that the government's goal is not just to spend money. It is to make sure every rupee spent improves people's lives. He has said that elections should be about education and health, not about caste or religion.
At the World Education Conference in Moscow in 2018, Sisodia said that building a good education system helps society most. He believes education should prepare students for today's problems. These include terrorism, pollution, and unfair treatment. In 2019, he said students should learn to create jobs, not just look for them. He also believes India needs an education system that offers good quality learning to all students. This should not just be for the few who can pay for it.
Awards and Recognition
- 2016: Listed among the 100 most influential Indians by The Indian Express.
- 2017: Awarded the "Finest Education Minister" award by The Indian Express.
- 2019: Received the Champions of Change Award for his great work in education in Delhi.
- 2021: Honored with the Mahatma award for promoting excellent education. This is a global award for leaders who make a positive social impact.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2020
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Manish Sisodia won the 2020 Delhi Vidhan Sabha election by defeating Ravi Negi in Patparganj constituency
