She comes into this job with the eyes of the country, indeed the world on her. It's not an easy job, but neither was her earlier assignment as spokesperson for the Congress Party easy. Jairam Ramesh's high profile actions and utterances will inevitably become the bar against which she will be guaged for the first few weeks of her tenure, but eventually, she will make or break her reputation depending on whether or not she is able to a) understand the significance of environmental protection to the quality of life of over a billion people and b) convince the Prime Minister and her cabinet colleagues that creating livelihoods to restore ecosystems, thus shoring up our water and food security, is probably the most vital developmental agenda for India.
BACKGROUNDER: Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
Information Source: GOI/NIC
Name: Smt. Jayanthi NatarajanÂ
Father's Name: Dr. C.R. SundararajanÂ
Mother's Name: Shrimati Rukmini SundararajanÂ
Date of Birth: 07/06/1954Â
Birth Place: MadrasÂ
Maritial Status: Married On 9 June 1974Â
Spouse Name: Shri V.K. NatarajanÂ
No. of Children: One SonÂ
State Name: Tamil NaduÂ
Party Name: Indian National CongressÂ
Permanent Address: 47, Warren Road, Mylapore, Chennai, Tamilnadu - 600004
Telephone: {044} 24992440, 24992189, Mobile: 09445392440Â
Present Address: 402, Brhmaputra, Dr. B.D. Marg, New Delhi - 110001
Telephone: 23356888, 23356887, Mobile: 9868181899Â
Email id: jayanthi.n@sansad.nic.inÂ
Educational Qualifications: B.A., B.L. Educated at Ethiraj College and Madras Law CollegeÂ
Profession: Advocate
Positions Held: June 1986 Elected to Rajya Sabha 1988 Member, General Body of the Central Social Welfare Board 1991 Nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairmen 1992 Re-nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairmen 1992-2001 Member Committee of Privileges June 1992 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (resigned w.e.f. 9 September 1997) 1992-97 Member, Committee of both Houses on Environment and Forests 1994-97 Member, Business Advisory Committee Member, Committee on Public Accounts 1996 Re-nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairmen June 1997-March 1998 Minister of State in the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Parliamentary Affairs Oct. 1997 Elected to Rajya Sabha 1998-99 Member, Committee on Home Affairs 1998-2001 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation April 2008 Elected to Rajya Sabha Nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha May 2008-Sept.2009 Member, Committee on Government Assurances May 2008-May 2009 Member, Parliamentary Forum on Children June 2008 onwards Member, General Purposes Committee Aug. 2008-May 2009 Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Member, Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation Aug. 2009 onwards Chairman, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dec.2009 onwards Member, Select Committee to examine the Commercial Division of High Courts Bill, 2009 Feb. 2010 onwards Member, Court of the University of Pondicherry Sept. 2010 onwards Member, Committee on RulesÂ
Freedom Fighter: NoÂ
Books Published Â
Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special
Interests: To play the veena; environment, legal aid and women's rights with special reference to law Â
Sports, Clubs, Favourite Pastimes and Recreation: Zonta Club for Women, Madras; reading of books on philosophy, poetry and humour, music, theatre and amateur dramaticsÂ
Countries Visited: U.S.A., Canada, Sri Lanka, Nepal and a number of European countriesÂ
Other Information: Engaged in All India Women's Conference, Environmental Society and in the work of legal aid for the poor.Â
