Ravi Shankar Prasad

Ravi Shankar Prasad is an eminent lawyer and senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. His legal career began with his designation as a Senior Advocate by the full bench of the Patna High Court. He has held significant positions, including General Secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (P.U.C.L.) in Bihar, Secretary of the Patna High Court Advocates Association, and Director of the State Bank of India, Bihar Local Board.

Prasad has been a dedicated civil liberty and human rights activist throughout his career. During his college and university days, he was an avid debater in both Hindi and English, frequently earning accolades in state and national debating competitions.

A human rights activist, Prasad has advocated for undertrial prisoners and argued significant cases that impacted political fairness and propriety in India. He was actively involved in the student movement led by Jai Prakash Narayan in Bihar and was imprisoned during the Emergency for his activism.

Entering politics, Prasad became a Member of Parliament in 2000, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was elected to the Rajya Sabha for four terms and has served on key Parliamentary Committees such as Finance, Communication & IT, and Petroleum & Chemicals. In September 2001, he was appointed as Minister of State for Coal and Mines in the government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In this role, he successfully turned around Coal India Limited and initiated reforms in the coal sector.

In January 2003, he was elevated to the Union Cabinet as Minister for Information and Broadcasting. During his tenure, he introduced significant reforms in the Cable Television sector and pioneered direct-to-home (DTH) satellite telecast services. He also worked on cyber security, data privacy, and several new e-governance activities and liberalised FM radio services, which greatly benefited the industry.

On May 26, 2014, Prasad was appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Law & Justice and Communications and Information Technology. He has been instrumental in revitalizing India's telecom sector and leading the development of India as a global electronics manufacturing hub. Under his leadership, the Digital India initiative was launched, aiming to enhance governance through extensive use of Information Technology. He is also actively involved in reforming the Indian legal and judicial system.

He was re-inducted into Modi's cabinet as Minister of Law and Justice in 2019. However, he stepped down from all ministerial positions in Modi Cabinet on 7 July 2021. Being a stalwart politician, the BJP has fielded him to contest from the Patna Sahib constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Prasad has been a key figure in the BJP, holding crucial organizational positions such as national general secretary, chief spokesperson, and head of the Media division. He has frequently appeared in national and international media, representing the party's views.

Prasad has contributed numerous articles on contemporary legal and constitutional issues, which have been published in leading newspapers such as The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Statesman, The Pioneer, Hindustan, and Dainik Jagran.

In addition to his professional achievements, Prasad has a keen interest in sports and cultural activities. He played table tennis at the university level and is a member of the Bankipur Club, Patna Golf Club, and Delhi Golf Club. He also enjoys classical Indian music, travelling, and reading historical, biographical, and legal literature.

Ravi Shankar Prasad is married to Dr. Maya Shankar, who is a retired Professor of History at Patna University in Bihar, India.