Current affairs

From fresh faces to big elevations: The brand new Modi cabinet...Who has got what?

By alagu, 08 July, 2021
Narendra Modi, Union Cabinet, BJP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's brand new cabinet has come into force with a refreshment, hours after President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to the ministers. In what has become the first major overhaul of the cabinet since Modi formed his government for the second consecutive term in 2019, the rejig has inducted many new and young faces as they took office as the first time ministers of the Union government. 

In the evening hours of Wednesday, after hectic discussions and review, 43 leaders were sworn in as the Union Ministers in the ceremony that was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ahead of the cabinet reshuffle, a dozen Union Ministers have tabled their resignations to make way for the new entrants. From Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, to Ravi Shankar Prasad, the big heads of the cabinet were told to demit the office.

Amid much expectations on who would win the vacated berths of the cabinet, the final list of cabinet ministers was unveiled after the swearing-in ceremony. The press communique has said that the President of India has directed the allocation of portfolios as advised by the Prime Minister. The brand new cabinet has 30 ministers, excluding the Prime Minister, in total including new entrants, promoted ministers from the minister of state post, and two women. Some existing ministers had also got new portfolios. Let's take a look at who has got what, 

New entrants in the Modi 2.0 cabinet:

  • Narayan Tatu Rane: As a leader of BJP, Rane was the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and now, he has entered the Union Cabinet for the first time. He will be serving as the Union Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. Rane has also served as the minister of key portfolios in the Maharashtra government. He has been a BJP MP in Rajya Sabha since 2018. 
  • Sarbananda Sonowal: Being the former Chief Minister of Assam, Sonowal is a pivotal face of the BJP in the North East. Having said that, Modi has decided to give a representation for Assam. As a new entrant in the current Union cabinet, Sonowal will be serving as the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, Waterways, and AYUSH. Sonowal had also served as the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in Modi's first-term government. 
  • Virendra Kumar: As an MP since 1996, Virendra Kumar has entered the Union Cabinet for the first time after 2019 and he has replaced Thawar Chand Gehlot. Virendra Kumar will be serving as the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. He had previously served as the Union Minister of Women and Child Development. It must be noted that Virendra Kumar is a prominent scheduled caste face in BJP. 
  • Jyotiraditya Scindia: In a significant induction, Modi has brought Scindia into his cabinet. As a popular national politician, Scindia was one of the young leaders of the Congress party. He joined BJP last year and his divorce from the Congress has toppled the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh. As a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Scindia has entered the cabinet for the first time and he will be serving as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation. 
  • Ramchandra Prasad Singh: A close aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Singh is the national president of Janata Dal. He is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar since 2010 and now, he had entered the Modi cabinet for the first time. Singh will be serving as the Union Minister of Steel and it must be noted that he was a UP cadre IAS officer before entering politics.
  • Ashwini Vaishnaw: One of the crucial faces in the brand new cabinet, Vaishnaw will be serving as the Union Minister of Railways, Minister of Communications and Electronics and Information Technology. As a first-time cabinet minister, Vaishnaw is a former IAS officer of the Odisha cadre. He has been serving as the BJP MP in Rajya Sabha from Odisha since 2019. 
  • Pashupati Kumar Paras: One of Modi's picks from the allied parties. Paras is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party, which was formed by late leader Ram Vilas Paswan. As the first timer in the Union cabinet, Paras will be serving as the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries and he has been serving as a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar.
  • Raj Kumar Singh: One of the prominent names in the Indian bureaucracy, Raj Kumar Singh was the former Union Home Secretary. He was an IAS officer from Bihar cadre and he was serving in the rank of minister of state before getting elevated to the Union cabinet. As a first-timer in the Cabinet, Singh will be serving as the Union Minister of Power and Minister of New and Renewable Energy. 
  • Bhupendar Yadav: Yadav is the national general secretary of the BJP and he has been serving as the BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan since 2018. As the first-timer in the Cabinet, Yadav will be serving as the Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change; and Minister of Labour and Employment. 

Leaders who are elevated as a Cabinet Minister: 

  • G Kishan Reddy (former Minister of State of Home Affairs) - Union Cabinet Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. 
  • Anurag Singh Thakur (former Minister of State of Finance) - Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. 
  • Parshottam Rupala (former Minister of State for Panchayat Raj)- Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy.
  • Kiren Rijiju (former Minister of State for Youth Affairs) - Union Minister of Law and Justice.
  • Hardeep Singh Puri (former Minister of State for Civil Aviation) - Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs. 
  • Mansukh Mandaviya (former Minister of State for Ports) - Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers. 

Existing Cabinet ministers including the ministers who got new portfolios: 

  • Rajnath Singh - Minister of Defence
  • Amit Shah - Minister of Home and Minister of Cooperation
  • Nitin Gadkari- Minister of Road Transport and Highways
  • Nirmala Sitharaman - Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs
  • Narendra Sing Tomar - Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
  • Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar - Minister of External Affairs
  • Arjun Munda - Minister of Tribal Affairs
  • Smriti Irani - Minister of Women and Child Development (new portfolio as she was serving as the Minister of Textiles before).
  • Piyush Goyal - Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Minister of Textiles.
  • Dharmendra Pradhan - Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (new portfolio as he was serving as the Minister of Petroleum before)
  • Pralhad Joshi - Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of Coal and Mines
  • Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi - Minister of Minority Affairs
  • Giriraj Singh - Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (new portfolio as he was serving as the Minister of Animal Husbandry before)
  • Gajendra Singh Shekhawat - Minister of Jal Shakti
  • Mahendra Nath Pandey - Minister of Heavy Industries (new portfolio as he was serving as the Minister of Skill Development before). 

 

 

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