Modi Cabinet: Amit Shah made Co-operation Minister; Aviation for Scindia
Shortly after 43 new ministers were sworn into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expanded Union Cabinet on Wednesday, ministries were allocated to each member. Modi has expanded his Cabinet, the first expansion in his second term as PM. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been given additional charge of the newly-created Ministry of Co-operation and Tourism and Development of North East. Here are more details.
Mansukh Mandaviya replaces Harsh Vardhan as Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya—who was previously the Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers—has been given charge of the Union Health Ministry. Former Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan was reportedly removed from the post over the poor handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has been given charge of the Textiles Ministry. Jyotiraditya Scindia has been made the Civil Aviation Minister.
Modi to hold charge of Science and Technology
Modi has kept the Science and Technology portfolio. Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has been given additional charge of the Petroleum Ministry. Petroleum and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been given additional charge of the Education Ministry, previously held by Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'. Meenakshi Lekhi has become the new Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture.
Anurag Thakur made Sports and I&B Minister
Formerly the Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur has been made the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and Information & Broadcasting. The sports portfolio was previously held by MoS Kiren Rijiju, while Prakash Javadekar held the I&B Ministry. Rijiju now holds charge of the Union Ministry of Culture and Law and Justice.
Ashwini Vaishnav gets IT, Railways Ministry
Ashwini Vaishnav has been made the new Minister for Railways and IT & Communications, which was previously held by Ravi Shankar Pradhan. Pashupati Kumar Paras has gotten the charge of the Food Processing Ministry, while Parshottam Rupala holds charge of the Dairy Ministry. Giriraj Singh has been named the Rural Development Minister. Smriti Irani retains the Union Women and Child Affairs Ministry.
Bhupendra Yadav made Labour Minister
Former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has been made the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, and Homoeopathy). The charge of the Labour Ministry, previously held by Santosh Gangwar, will now be held by Bhupendra Yadav.
12 ministers resigned today; 43 new ministers sworn-in
The Union Cabinet can have up to 81 members, but until today, there were only 53 (28 vacancies). Several ministers also carried the additional charge for multiple ministries. Modi held a key meeting with ministerial probables ahead of the Cabinet expansion. Thereafter, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignations of 12 Union Ministers while 43 new Cabinet Ministers took the oath of office.
