Pratap Jena

Jena was born on 3 June 1966 in Cuttack to Shri Dushasan Jena and Smt Saraswati Jena.

He studied at Secondary Board High School, Cuttack.

Later he did his B.Sc.

and M.Sc.

(Mathematics) from Ravenshaw University followed by L.L.B. from Madhusudan Law College, Cuttack and PGDM from Cuttack.

Jena joined student politics in 1985 making his debut as the secretary of the Science Society of Ravenshaw College.

He was elected as president of the students’ union of Madhusudan Law College, Cuttack in 1990–91.

He was the president of State Chhatra Janata Dal (student's wing of Janata Dal) from 1992 to 2002, having been appointed to the position by Late Biju Patnaik.

In 2000, he contested the Odisha Legislative Assembly elections, contesting from Kissan Nagar constituency.

He defeated Bira Kishore Parida of INC with a margin of 17,695 votes.

He was re-elected from Kissan Nagar in 2004 Assembly elections, defeating Gurupada Nanda of INC by 24,768 votes.

Earlier, he had served as the Minister of School and Mass Education during his third term (2009–2012) and as the Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Law and Information & Public Relations in his fourth term (2017–2019) in the assembly.

In 2009, he was elected for the third time, this time from Mahanga constituency, defeating Shaik Matlub Ali of INC by a margin of 29,220 votes.

He became the School and Mass Education minister during this term.

Pratap Jena took oath as Minister of School and Mass Education after his party's victory in the 2009 assembly elections.

He continued on this post until August 2012 after which he was replaced as a part of ministerial reshuffle.

His second stint as a minister came during the party's current tenure in the government.

He was re-elected from Mahanga in 2014 Assembly elections, defeating Sarada Prasad Pradhan (Independent candidate) by 27,874 votes.

In a major reshuffle of the State Cabinet on 7 May 2017, Jena was assigned the portfolios of Health & Family Welfare and Law departments.

The charge of Information and Public Relations was added to his portfolio during another reshuffle on 3 May 2018.

Pratap Jena (ପ୍ରତାପ ଜେନା) is an Indian politician and the Former Cabinet Minister in the Sixteenth Odisha Legislative Assembly with Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Law, Housing & Urban Development portfolios (2019–2022).

He is elected as the Member of Legislative Assembly for the fifth consecutive time from Mahanga constituency of Kendrapara (Lok Sabha constituency).

He is also the General secretary of the farmers wing of Biju Janata Dal, Biju Krushak Janata Dal.

In 2019, he was again re-elected from Mahanga with a margin of 29,585 votes and became the Cabinet Minister in Naveen Patnaik's ministry with important portfolios such as Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Law, Housing & Urban Development.

Recently He was conferred with the "Fame India Best Minister Award" at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

In May 2019, Jena was again elected to Odisha Legislative Assembly for the fifth consecutive time and became Cabinet Minister in Naveen Patnaik's fifth consecutive government with important portfolios such as Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Law, Housing & Urban Development.

After taking charge as Health & Law Minister, there has been a thrust on development in the health sector said to be the most successful term in history of Health & Law Ministry.

These include inauguration of Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput, Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Baripada

, Bhima Bhoi Medical College & Hospital in Balangir

, Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital in Balasore

, District Headquarter hospital in Jharsuguda

, 300 bedded District headquarters hospital building for Dhenkanal and Kendrapara district, 100-bed mother and child hospital in Angul, 30-bed ICU at SCB Medical College and Hospital, MoU with the Vedanta Group for a 500-bed medical college and hospital in Kalahandi district, MoU with Tata Trusts for cancer treatment and research hospital in Bhubaneswar

and inauguration of multiple Urban primary health centres among others.

New Medical college and Hospital are under construction in Kalahandi, Puri, Keonjhar.

A new Medical College will constructed at Jajpur in the next phase.

Under Jena's tenure as health minister, Odisha has become the first State in the country to have formulated the Universal Eye Health Programme (UEHP).

In a first-of-its-kind health programme, the state aims at providing comprehensive, accessible, affordable and equitable eye care to people of all age groups.

The Rs.

600 crore scheme will provide five lakh spectacles to students and 10 lakh cataract patients will be operated free of cost.

Glaucoma patients will also be offered free treatment.