Jay Panda

Jay Panda
Member, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha
Assumed office
2009
Preceded by Archana Nayak
Constituency Kendrapara
Member: Rajya Sabha
In office
4 April 2000  2009
Personal details
Born Baijayant Panda
(1964-01-12) 12 January 1964
Cuttack, Odisha
Nationality Indian
Political party Biju Janata Dal
Spouse(s) Jagi Mangat Panda
Residence Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Alma mater Michigan Technological University
Profession Industrialist, Politician
Religion Hinduism
Signature
Website Official Website

Baijayant "Jay" Panda is an Indian politician, currently serving as a Member of the Lok Sabha. Elected from the Kendrapara constituency, he belongs to the Biju Janata Dal party. Previously, he had served in the indirectly elected Rajya Sabha, from 2000 to 2009.

Early life

He was born on 12 January 1964 in Cuttack to Bansidhar Panda and Ila Panda. He studied in the Michigan Technological University. With a background in Engineering and Management, he went on to work in the corporate sector before joining politics. He assisted the late Biju Patnaik and subsequently Naveen Patnaik, who founded the Biju Janata Dal party.[1]

He married Jagi Mangat Panda on 13 August 1994 who is an industrialist and is currently the managing director of Ortel Communications Ltd.[2][3]

Public Causes

Besides being active in Parliament and in his constituency, Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda has been championing several key initiatives. Some of his major efforts are given below:

Citizens’ Alliance against Malnutrition

Panda is a member of the Citizens’ Alliance against Malnutrition,[4] a high level advocacy group composed of young parliamentarians, from various parties and other influential personalities. The goal of the alliance is to raise its voice against malnutrition so that collective national consciousness can be converted into action to eliminate the menace of malnutrition.

As part of the initiative, the alliance members travel across the country, visiting regions with high prevalence of malnutrition. On these visits they meet children, mothers, anganwadi workers, government officials and political leaders to understand why child malnutrition persists. They also raise the issue in different forums.[5]

The work of the alliance prompted the Naandi Foundation to conduct, in 2011, the nation’s first ever large scale nutrition survey which captured nutrition data from over 100,000 children and interviewed more than 74,000 mothers. This survey, christened the HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) Survey, was released by the Prime Minister in January 2012, at the behest of the alliance.

Consultations on plain packaging of tobacco products

Jay Panda has been spearheading the campaign to reduce the consumption of tobacco products in India.[6]

In December 2012, Australia led the way by becoming the first country to enact a legislation mandating ‘plain’ packaging of tobacco products. Learning from the Australian example, Jay Panda introduced a Private Members’ Bill in the Lok Sabha to stipulate plain packaging of tobacco products. His Bill seeks to increase the size of the health warning and the accompanying graphic to at least 60% of the front and back surfaces of the package. It also prohibits advertisement of tobacco products in warehouses and shops i.e. at the point of sale.

Besides pursuing the matter in Parliament and writing opinion pieces on the issues, Jay Panda has been working closely with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY) to organize consultations on issue.One such consultation was organized in Delhi in December 2012 and another in Bhubaneswar in February 2013.[7]

Support to the cause of migrant labour

In January 2013, the Times of India carried a story alleging exploitation of migrant Oriya labourers in brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh.

Following these reports, Jay Panda wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the Labour Minister, requesting them to investigate the matter and to ensure that the rights of the workers are protected. On the basis of his letter, the NHRC directed the Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh to respond to the complaint with all relevant information.

In April, he pursued the matter further by visiting the brick kilns of Randa Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh to get a first-hand account of the situation.[8]

Private Member Bills

Jay Panda has introduced a number of Private Members' Bills in Parliament some very important issues. Some of the bills that he has introduced are:

References

  1. http://www.jaypanda.in/?page_id=228
  2. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=2985709&privcapId=2945138
  3. "Jay & Jagi Panda". Atelier. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  4. "High-level Bhubaneswar Conclave: ‘Nourishing India’s Tribal Children’ Inaugurated". Unicef. Unicef. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  5. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234403
  6. http://www.jagran.com/editorial/apnibaat-inconclusive-war-against-tobacco-10439376.html
  7. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/plain-packaging-can-reduce-use-of-tobacco-products/article4187369.ece
  8. http://www.amarujala.com/news/samachar/reflections/columns/slavery-in-modern-time/
  9. http://202.62.224.53/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-The-Comptroller-and-Auditor-Generals-Act-Amendment-Bill-2013.pdf
  10. http://202.62.224.53/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-Fast-Track-Courts-for-Elected-Representatives-Bill-2013.pdf
  11. http://202.62.224.53/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-Representation-of-People-Amendment-Bill-2013.pdf
  12. http://www.jaypanda.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Representation-of-People-Act-Amendment-Bill-2014.pdf
  13. http://202.62.224.53/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-The-Information-Technology-Amendment-Bill-2012.pdf
  14. http://jaypanda.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-The-Indian-Penal-Code-Amendment-Bill-2012.pdf
  15. http://jaypanda.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-The-Code-of-Criminal-Procedure-Amendment-Bill-2013.pdf
  16. http://jaypanda.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-The-Cigarettes-and-other-Tobacco-Products-Amendment-Bill-20121.pdf
  17. http://jaypanda.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Draft-Intangible-Cultural-Heritage-Protection-Preservation-and-Promotion-Bill2013.pdf

External links

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