Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal, born on 10 September 1964 in Punjab, India, is a renowned educationist and a politician. Presently, he is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, from the state of Punjab and the Founder Chancellor of Lovely Professional University (LPU).
Dr. Mittal earned his law degree from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. In 2022, he received an honorary doctorate from Atal Bihari Vajpayee University in Chhattisgarh.
In 2005, Dr. Mittal established Lovely Professional University, which has emerged as one of India's largest single-campus universities, having admissions in excess of 35,000 students from all Indian states and 50 nations. Dr. Mittal led LPU to become the first private university to be accredited by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Dr. Mittal joined active politics in March 2022 with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He was voted unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on behalf of Punjab. Since becoming a member, he has actively taken part in parliamentary debates and is a member of the Committee on External Affairs and the Committee on the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.
Philanthropy
According to officials, Dr. Mittal has played a key role in conducting widespread scholarship schemes at LPU, disbursing scholarships of more than Rs. 100 crores every year among deserving students, including physically challenged students. He launched a scholarship scheme providing complete coverage to spinal cord injury students and has donated laptops to organizations like the Spinal Cord Injury Association (SCIA), Saksham, Gyandeep Teaching Project, and Aaghaaz, in association with Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, to boost online opportunities for learning.
He has actively engaged in community service programs. Under his leadership, almost 1000 NSS volunteers and over 100 NCC cadets coordinate more than 400 community events each year.
Personal Life
He is married to Rashmi Mittal and has one son and a daughter. As a member of the Rajya Sabha, Dr. Mittal has been an extremely active debater of issues relevant to the nation, including building international guidelines against cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Dr. Mittal also keeps an active online presence through his social media sites, sharing stories and updates relevant to his work.
Awards & Accolades
Acknowledging his exceptional accomplishments, Dr. Mittal has received prestigious honors including the Indian Punjab Gaurav Award, Red Cross Award, National Education Excellence Awards, Shiksha Ratan Award, among others.
