Modi Cabinet 3.0 – 9 Ministers Take Oath; 4 Others Elevated

Prabhu had offered to quit after a major rail accident in Uttar Pradesh claimed 23 lives last month. It’s not without reason that the prime minister has given him additional charge of defence for the second time.

There is speculation that Amit Shah may be inducted in the cabinet as defence minister, an important portfolio now being handled by Arun Jaitley ever since Manohar Parrikar was made Goa chief minister earlier this year.

Reacting to her appointment, Sithraman said she felt very humbled and she can not describe her recognition in words. “As an ordinary worker from the south (India), it’s a recognition by the party which overwhelms me”, she said.

Nitin Gadkari who heads the highways and shipping ministry will also look after the ministry of water resources and the Ganges rejuvenation department, the government said in a statement.

There was some speculation earlier that, in a bid to expand the already massive NDA coalition, Modi and Shah could formalise a pact with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the AIADMK-and members from both these parties could also be inducted.

While these Ministers have been promoted to the position of the cabinet for one ministry, Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal will also retain the charge of Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Coal respectively.

A revamp of the cabinet has been on the cards for months because some ministers are holding multiple portfolios which is seen as a drag on efficiency.

Mishra was a Cabinet minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Dattatreya was Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Labour and Employment.

Another new face Anant Kumar Hegde has been made MoS in the Skill Development Ministry, while Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was made MoS in the Agriculture Ministry.

Among the nine new faces is India’s former Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh who, as District Collector of Samastipur in eastern state of Bihar, had arrested BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani to stop the latter from carrying on his Ram Rath yatra at the height of the party’s campaign to build a temple at the disputed site of Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1990.

As government sources disclosed the names, a surprise factor was the absence of members of BJP’s allies like JD (U) and Shiv Sena from the list.

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka will go to polls in 2018.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Former sports minister Vijay Goel have been moved to Parliamentary affairs as a minister of state. He was serving as the MoS finance.

Committed to his track record of identifying fellow team members on the basis of merit and future potential, the prime minister will place them strategically in key ministries, especially focusing on last mile delivery directly to the people, they said.

The new inductions left many stunned – not for the futility of the exercise but for the fact that the Prime Minister finally managed to give an impression that he is serious about governance.

Four of the nine new ministers appointed by Modi are retired bureaucrats, including K J Alphons, known as Delhi’s demolition man for launching a crackdown on illegal structures in the capital despite facing intense political pressure.