Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Rajeev Chandrasekhar (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian politician and entrepreneur, and a Member of Parliament in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Indian Parliament. He is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as of 2018 and also the vice-chairman of the Kerala wing of the BJP-led coalition National Democratic Alliance. He represents the state of Karnataka.

Chandrasekhar serves as a member of the Parliament, Standing Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee on Finance, the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps, Co-Chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District. He sits on Rajya Sabha Select Committees for the GST and Real Estate bills

Chandrasekhar is the founder and chairman of Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd, a financial services and investment company, through which he owns Asianet News Network and has a stake in Arnab Goswami’s Republic Media.

Early life and education

Rajeev was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His father M. K. Chandrasekhar was an Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force.

He studied in various schools across India, and studied electrical engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology. He completed Masters in Computer Science in 1988 from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He then attended the six-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Career

Entrepreneur

In 1994, Chandrasekhar founded BPL Mobile. In July 2005, he sold his 64 percent stake in BPL Communications to Essar Group for US$1.1 billion.

Chandrasekhar founded Jupiter Capital in 2005, with an initial investment of US$100 million, and currently has investments and managed assets of over US$800 million in technology, media, hospitality, and entertainment. Jupiter Entertainment Ventures Private Limited owns and operates media companies including Asianet News, Kannada Prabha and Suvarna News 24×7 and Republic TV run by Arnab Goswami. The company also owns radio brands Best FM and Radio Indigo.

There has been some controversy regarding his personal income while being a Member of Parliament. Some claim that his declared net worth includes hidden undisclosed assets. Chandrasekhar has clarified the matter, and has put all his communication to Governments on his website.

In April 2013, Chandrasekhar was awarded an honorary doctorate by Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, for his work as an entrepreneur.

Politics

Currently he is the vice chairman of BJP-led NDA Kerala state unit.

Member of Parliament

Rajeev Chandrasekhar was an Independent member of Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka from April 2006 to April 2012. In April 2012, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka for a second six-year term as an Independent member. He has advocated for governance reforms, institution building, Internet freedom, national security, welfare of the Armed Forces Personnel and sustainable city building of Bangalore and Karnataka.

Positions held

• Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
• Member of Standing Committee on Defence
• Member of Consultative Committee on Finance
• Member of the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps
• Co-Chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District.
• Founder and Chairman, Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd.
• Founder and Principal Donor – Flags of Honour Foundation
• Founder and Principal Bengaluru Foundation
• Founder and Managing Trustee – RC Foundation (RCF)
• Chairman, National Military Memorial
• Director, ARG Outlier

Personal life

Rajeev is married to Anju Chandrasekhar and resides in Koramangala, Bengaluru. They have adopted a son, Ved, and a daughter Devika.

Honours, awards and international recognition

India Today magazine ranked him #41st in India’s 50 Most powerful people of 2017 list.