Ashwini Vaishnaw is an Indian politician and former IAS officer currently serving as the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology in Government of India, since 8 July 2021. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In June 2019, he became a member of the Parliament of India representing Odisha State in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. On 7 July 2021, he was appointed as a Cabinet Minister and was given the charge of Railways and Information Technology ministries. Earlier in 1994, Vaishnaw joined the Indian Administrative Service in the Odisha cadre, and has worked extensively in Odisha.