Ground Report| News desk
A day after taking oath as the 15th Prime Minister of India on the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Narendra Modi announced portfolios for his Cabinet ministers on Friday. Modi chose his all-weather partner Amit Shah for Home Ministry while Rajnath Singh has been given the charge of Defence. A total of 24 Cabinet Ministers, nine Minister of State (Independent Charge) and 24 other Minister of States were sworn in on Thursday by the President.
(Image source- Twitter)
Nirmala Sitharaman who headed the Defence in the previous government has been given a new responsibility of steering the Indian economy. Sitharaman has been made Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister in the new government.
A major surprise in the new Cabinet is the entry of former foreign secretary S Jaishankar, who has been made the Minister of External Affairs. Jaishankar, a career diplomat has been one of the close confidants of the prime minister when it comes to his foreign policy. He has been credited with forming the crux of Modi foreign policy in the previous government. A 1977 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Jaishankar has been pivotal in developing relations with China and the United States. He was a key negotiator for the India US Civil Nuclear Deal during Manmohan government and the diffusing the Dpklam standoff with China in Arunachal Pradesh.
Smriti Irani, the ‘giant-slayer’, who defeated Rahul Gandhi on his turf of Amethi has been awarded the Women and Child Development, while also retaining the Textile Ministry.
List of Ministers and their Portfolios
Narendra Modi: Prime Minister, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; All important policy issues; and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister
Rajnath Singh: Minister of Defence
Amit Shah: Minister of Home Affairs
Nitin Gadkari: Minister of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
D. V. Sadananda Gowda: Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers
Nirmala Sitharaman: Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs
Ramvilas Paswan: Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Narendra Singh Tomar: Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of Rural Development; and Minister of Panchayati Raj
Ravi Shankar Prasad: Minister of Law and Justice; Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology
Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Minister of Food Processing Industries
Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Dr. S Jaishankar: Minister of External Affairs
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’: Minister of Human Resource Development
Arjun Munda: Minister of Tribal Affairs
Smriti Irani: Minister of Women and Child Development; Minister of Textiles
Dr. Harsh Vardhan: Minister of Health and Family Welfare;’ Minister of Science and Technology; and Minister of Earth Sciences
Prakash Javadekar: Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of Information and Broadcasting
Piyush Goyal: Minister of Railways; and Minister of Commerce and Industry
Dharmendra Pradhan: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Steel
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: Minister of Minority Affairs
Pralhad Joshi: Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines
Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey: Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Arvind Sawant: Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise
Giriraj Singh: Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: Minister of Jal Shakti
