#CoffeeWithAshwath

Tomorrow belongs to the people who plan for it today and Dr. Ashwathnarayan C.N. seems to have realized this early in his life. A politician is what he wanted to become every step he took as a youngster was towards this very direction.

Dr C. N. Ashwathnarayan, is a prominent leader from the Vokkaliga Community of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He entered mainstream politics in 2004 by joining the BJP and contested from Malleshwaram (Vidhan Sabha constituency). He was also the Vice President of the BJP, Bangalore District.

In the previous government led by BSY, he was the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and the Minister of Higher Education, Information Technology & Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, and Livelihood. He was also the Chairman of the State’s Covid-19 task force and the District In-charge minister for Ramanagara.

As Covid Task Force Chairman, he led from the front during the second wave of the pandemic, ensuring efficient bed management, oxygen management, triaging, medicine availability.

Under his leadership, the Department of Higher Education has initiated steps to adopt the National Education Policy 2020, making it the first state in India to do so. He also recently launched a comprehensive Learning Management System in Karnataka, making it the first state in the country to have Integrated LMS with smart classrooms, learning management solutions, and tablet PCs distributed among students for effective digital learning.

As the Minister for Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology, he took several measures to encourage start-ups, Engineering R&D, Biotechnology, and establishing technology hubs beyond Bengaluru. Karnataka is the top performer for the 2nd consecutive year in 2020 as per DPIIT’s States’ Startup Ranking. Karnataka retains its No. 1 position as the Most Innovative State in the India Innovation Index 2020 by Niti Aayog. The State contributes to about 34% of India’s $ 60 billion bioeconomy.

The Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood has launched the ‘Skill Connect’ and ‘Skill Registry’ portals with his guidance. Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission Scheme, various self-help groups have been established and brought under a single platform to encourage women in the State.

As the district-in-charge minister of Ramanagara, he initiated the construction of district hospital and implemented government schemes such as MNREGA, which helped provide job opportunities to people even during the pandemic.

Other positions he held...

Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner of Accel & Chairman of Vision Group for Startups