Shri Ajay Bhatt — Hon’ble Minister of State for Defence; Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India — delivered the Keynote Address in the Inaugural Session on Day One of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2022. Shri Bhatt also released one of the Maritime Perspectives volumes: Hard-Security Perspectives in India’s Maritime Neighbourhood.
About the Speaker
Mr Ajay Bhatt is a Member of Parliament, representing the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency. He is concurrently the Hon’ble Minister of State for Defence and the Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism.
Born in Ranikhet in the state of Uttarakhand, on 01 May 1961, Mr Bhatt is an advocate by training and profession, having received a degree in law from the Kumaun University, Nainital.
He began his political journey in 1980, and in 1985, was elected as the District Head of the Executive Council of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). By 1996, he had been elected to the Legislative Assembly of the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and soon rose to prominence as a well-informed and effective political leader in the state of UP and, thereafter, in the state of Uttarakhand. Prior to assuming charge as Minister of State in the Government of India, Mr Ajay Bhatt was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Uttarakhand. He is regarded as one of the senior most of BJP leaders of Uttarakhand and has held several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Uttarakhand.
The Hon’ble Minister is a skilled debater, and an avid reader, with widely recognised skills as a writer on a extensive range of legal and socially relevant subjects. He is a strong supporter and practitioner of social service and enjoys a formidable reputation as a champion of the common people. Mr Bhatt is deeply committed to self-reliance and the ideal of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). He reposes great faith in India’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as a major driver of the country’s ongoing endeavour to transform itself from a major importer of defence equipment into a net exporter.