Ministerial Appointment Hearing 2025: Unanimous Approval Across the Board

Following the elections that concluded in May 2025, the newly elected Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) opened applications for the posts of Cabinet Ministers in June.

Alongside appointing students to the posts of Treasurer and Public Relations Director within the AUSG, the AUSG officially announced the ministerial nominations in July. The nominees, in alignment with the Constitution and the Governing Code, presented their case to the House of Representatives (HoR) in a public confirmation hearing on Saturday, 5th July, 2025. 

The ministerial nominees outlined their goals, vision and mandates for their respective ministries, elaborating on how they plan to address student concerns and needs. Sneha Menon (UG '26), the elected Speaker of the House, presided over the public hearing, which was open to the entire student body. 

Each pitch presented by the ministerial nominees was followed by a final vote where the President, Vice-President and the House of Representatives expressed either their support or dissent for the nominee. A ministerial nominee requires a minimum of two-thirds majority to be appointed. The hearing proceeded with unanimous approval for each of the 7 nominees, with no major contentions on the vision.

Sports Ministry

The hearing commenced with Aisha Lowe (UG '27), who was nominated for the position of Sports Minister. She promised to “make sports more accessible, safer and more inclusive than ever before.” Citing the Ministry’s achievement in securing academic accommodation for student athletes, she proposed extending this support to the pitch through improved sports infrastructure, upgraded equipment, and smoother tournament experiences. 

For non-athlete sports enthusiasts on campus, Lowe proposed beginner-friendly training sessions tailored for students interested in exploring sports. She also emphasised the importance of off-field opportunities that allow students to engage with the intersection of sports and academic disciplines. 

She presented 7 departments under the Ministry: Student-Athlete Outreach, Policy, Inclusivity, Athlete Mentorship, Collaborations & Outreach, Marketing, and Finance. These departments will work under the broader goals of promoting inclusivity, enriching campus culture, preventing injury, and fostering physical literacy among students.

Campus Life Ministry (CLM)

Aveka Jain (UG '27) was the nominee for Campus Life Minister. Her pitch began with a brief of the different departments under CLM. The most student-facing vertical of Policy and Research collects and incorporates student feedback into the different policies and protocols that affect the student community. Alongside that, the Dining Team undertakes mess and food outlet-related issues, and the Transport Team manages shuttle timings and shuttle routes. The fourth department, Residence Life, oversees residence halls, maintenance, laundry services, and related infrastructure.

Her vision for the ministry is anchored in three pillars—transparency, accessibility and inclusion, and student well-being. Jain aims to “create an environment that is warm and welcoming for everyone.” She highlighted her goal of accountability tracking reports, increased monthly allowance for students on financial aid, subsidised meal plans, Resident Assistant (RA) decentralisation and a warden feedback form, among other things. 

The pitch was followed by an audience question that sought to clarify the process of RA decentralisation. In response, the nominee elaborated on her vision of curating comfortable living experiences for students by making Resident Assistants more accessible and approachable. She intends to achieve this by briefing students on the roles and responsibilities of RAs and by positioning them as the central point of contact for student concerns.

Technology Ministry (TechMin)

Next was Vansh Bothra (UG '26), who presented his pitch as the Technology Minister nominee. Highlighting the significance of accessible technology, he recounted the varied features of Borrow Assets, SG Compose, CGPA Planner, Degree Tracker, Pool a Cab and Semester Planner, built and introduced by the Technology Ministry for the benefit of the Ashokan student community.

Coming back to his vision and mandate, Bothra listed the features lined up for the future. From mail spam filters to events calendar to washing machine trackers, Bothra he promised to implement these features, keeping in mind accessibility, financial security, and workers' upskillment. 

Citing the mailroom digitisation project, he outlined that it was preceded by workshops with workers that aimed to upskill them in the technology domain. Similarly, he envisions an increased borrowing assets capability and a unified security portal as a means for extended student support and campus-wide improvement.

Cultural Ministry (Jazbaa)

Sia Sarin (UG '27)  presented her pitch as the ministerial nominee for Jazbaa, the Cultural Ministry of the AUSG. Building on Jazbaa’s mandate, Sarin highlighted the pertinence of boosting campus engagement. She promised to carry forward the long-standing legacy of key cultural events organised and hosted by the Cultural Ministry while also ensuring that such platforms allow all students an opportunity to engage, interact and feel part of the wider community.

The empowerment of student clubs and the celebration of diverse traditions remain key takeaways. In line with the vision of fostering a culture of inclusivity within the campus, she recognised the initiation of the new department, “Inclusivity and Accessibility” under Jazbaa the previous year. In line with the values of the department, Sarin concluded by emphasising the importance of an inclusive student culture, highlighting her intent to place inclusivity at the core, rather than allowing it to remain an afterthought.

Ministry of Academic Affairs (MAA)

Presenting her pitch for the nomination to the position of Minister of Academic Affairs, Teesha Aurora (UG ‘27) outlined her experience as  Head of Department (HoD) of the Collaborations and Events team the previous year. As HoD, she has led over 70 initiatives through which she has learnt and responded to student concerns, understood the nuances of working with offices, designed and implemented efficient policies and built a team where members feel represented. 

With both the knowledge of the Ministry’s inner workings and the passion to carry its mandate forward, Aurora (UG ‘27) presented herself as the “right person to lead MAA”. Highlighting the strengths of the verticals – Collaboration and Events, and Policy and Research – she points out that the projects pitched are ideas from team members of the verticals who are students themselves and are better prepared to represent student grievances. 

With the affirmation, “I understand, I care, I will show up, and I will put in the work”, she concluded her pitch.

Ministry of Community Well-Being (MCWB)

Ajitesh Vishwanath (UG ‘27) was the ministerial nominee for the Ministry of Community Well-Being (MCWB). Citing the mental health and sexual well-being crisis on campus, Vishwanath wants to push MCWB towards addressing the “structural violence of unaffordable healthcare and punitive mental health policies.” 

MCWB centres around providing accessible care to the most at-risk and marginalised groups; Vishwanath thus underscored three major focus areas, the first one being healthcare access reform. Under this, he listed subsidised infirmary medicine costs, stocking sexual health essentials in the infirmary and hosting regular health camps for students and faculty as goals for the ministry.

His second focus area was specialised and non-punitive mental health support on campus. He has worked closely with the Ashoka Centre for Well-being (ACWB) to improve their services and ground them in student feedback. 

Academic accommodations were the third focus area, which MCWB, in collaboration with the MAA, intends to push for. By launching a student feedback form, Vishwananth aims to gauge student preference for policies. He urged the Ashoka community to refuse to accept the extent of the mental health crisis on campus as an inevitable part of university life.

Environment Ministry

Lastly, Saanvi Magod (UG '27) presented her pitch for the position of Environment Minister. She advocated for the vision of building a campus where “sustainability becomes a shared responsibility”. Explaining the structure under which the ministry can efficiently function, she went over the six main departments under the ministry. 

Research and Innovation will explore new sustainable practices at Ashoka. Events and Campus Engagement remains in charge of all the student-facing events, workshops and panel discussions. 

Outreach and Marketing will launch a new venture on LinkedIn, creating digital campaigns and fostering intercollegiate collaborations. Green Operations will work closely with the organising committee of the various fests hosted on campus to reduce waste and promote cleaner alternatives. 

Administrative Coordination will work as the primary point of contact between the Ministry and Ashoka’s administrative bodies, and the Monitoring & Evaluation team will track and measure the outcomes of all ministry initiatives.

The public hearing concluded with all 7 ministerial nominees being elected Cabinet Ministers unanimously by the HoR.  The President and the Vice-President congratulated the newly appointed Cabinet Ministers and expressed their excitement to work in close quarters with them. 

Apart from the ministerial positions, Vedant Malhotra (UG '26) and Utsav Kumar Mathur (UG '27) were appointed to the posts of Treasurer and Public Relations Director, respectively.

(Edited by Anamta Husain and Fatema Tambawalla)