Jairam Ramesh is an Indian politician from Indian National Congress. He is a veteran economist and the Member of Parliament representing Andhra Pradesh in Rajya Sabha since 2004. In July 2011, he was appointed as the Minister of Rural Development and Minister (Additional Charge) of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under UPA regime headed by the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. From October 12 2011, Jairam Ramesh also served under the portfolio of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests from May 2009 to July 2011.

Early Life of Jairam Ramesh
Jairam Ramesh was born on April 9, 1954 in Chikmagalur, Karnataka to Late C.K.Ramesh and Sridevi Ramesh. He belongs to an Iyengar Brahmin family. He attended St. Xavier`s School, Ranchi in 1961-1963 in classes 3 to 5. At the age of 16 he entered the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He graduated from IIT-Bombay in 1975 with a B. Tech. in Mechanical Engineering. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University from1975-77 and received a Master of Science in Public Policy and Public Management.

Career of Jairam Ramesh
In 1978, Jairam Ramesh joined the World Bank for a short project. He returned to India after a year and worked as assistant to economist Lovraj Kumar at the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices. Thereafter for two years 1983 to 1985 he was Officer on Special Duty in the Advisory Board of Energy. He has also worked in the Planning Commission, Ministry of Industry and other economic departments of the Central Government. He also worked as "Officer on Special Duty" during the National Front administration of the Vishwanath Pratap Singh government. He was advisor to the Prime Minister in 1991 and also worked in Dr. Manmohan Singh`s finance ministry. From 2000-2002, Jairam Ramesh also served as Deputy chairman, State Planning Board, Government of Karnataka and on the Economic Advisory Council of Andhra Pradesh. Jairam Ramesh also served on the well-known persons group of the Union Ministry of Power and other key government committees. Jairam Ramesh participated in India`s economic reforms in 1991 and 1997. He was advisor to the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in 1992-94. He was advisor to the former Finance Minister of India, P. Chidambaram from 1996-98. From 2000-2002, he served as Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board, Government of Karnataka and on the Economic Advisory Council of Andhra Pradesh.

Political Career of Jairam Ramesh
He is a Member of Parliament who represents Andhra Pradesh in Rajya Sabha since June 2004. Previously he was the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He also served as Secretary in the All India Congress Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Karnataka Planning Board (2000-2002), member of the Rajasthan Development Council (1999-2003), and Economic Advisor to the government of the state of Chhattisgarh (2001-03). In June, 2004, he was elected to represent Adilabad District, Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. He joined the National Advisory Council, where he helped put together UPA`s National Common Minimum Program. From August 2004 - January 2006 he was a member of three committees of Parliament: The Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance and the Committee on Government Assurances.

Jairam Ramesh As a Journalist and an Author
Jairam Ramesh has been a columnist for the Business Standard, Business Today, The Telegraph, Times of India and India Today. He has anchored in a number of popular television programmes on business and the economy in India. He is the author of two books: Making Sense of Chindia: Reflections on China and India (2005) and Mobilising Technology for World Development.

Other Activities of Jairam Ramesh
Jairam Ramesh is a founding member of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He is also a member of the International Council of the New York-based Asia Society. He has been a Visiting Fellow and Affiliated Researcher of the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi, since 2002.