In a mega Cabinet revamp, Anurag Thakur, G Kishan Reddy, Parshottam Rupala, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, G Kishan Reddy, Mansukh Mandaviya and Raj Kumar Singh were promoted. They took oath as Union ministers at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Live: PM Modi’s new Cabinet
Thakur, who is a BJP MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh was elevated in the reshuffle today. He became Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs in 2019, when the BJP led by PM Modi was elected for a second term in office.
Bureaucrat-turned politician RK Singh who steered Modi government’s power sector reforms agenda that made India surplus in electricity, was also promoted as a Cabinet minister from the minister of state rank. During his tenure, he managed the power grid and bring reforms in the distribution sector which has been debt-laden for years.
Meanwhile, Rijiju is minister of state (Independent Charge) ministry of youth affairs and sports; and Minister of state for minority affairs in the Modi government. He was Union minister of state for home affairs in the first term of the BJP-led government. Rijiju took oath as a cabinet minister at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of the Prime Minister and senior BJP leaders.
Parshottam Rupala, who is currently MoS (Agriculture), was promoted as Cabinet minister. G Kishan Reddy was also elevated from MoS rank.
Besides, Mansukh Mandaviya and RK Singh took oath as Cabinet ministers, another promotion for an existing minister of state.
This is the first reshuffle in the council of ministers by Prime Minister Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
With this reset, Modi has brought in young faces and has also given representation to various social groups and regions in the reshuffle.
Before the massive reshuffle, several heavyweight ministers resigned, while 43 new faces joined the government.
In the new council of ministers, there are four former chief ministers, 18 former state ministers, 39 former MLAs and 23 MPs who have been elected for three or more terms.
As the Modi government gets a makeover, the new council of ministers is being shaped in terms of experience and qualification.
Hours before the cabinet expansion, scheduled to be held at 6 pm at Rashtrapati Bhawan, several ministers including Vardhan, Pokhriyal and Sadananda Gowda as also Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Debasree Chaudhuri, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo resigned from their positions.
(With inputs from agencies)
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