#Modi2.0: Shah becomes Home Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman gets Finance
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath along with his Cabinet ministers, the portfolios of the ministers were announced. BJP President Amit Shah was named the Union Home Minister, whereas Nirmala Sitharaman was given the important Finance Ministry. Rajnath Singh is the new Union Defense Minister and Dr. S Jaishankar was named as External Affairs Minister. Here are all the details.
Before Sitharaman, Arun Jaitley handled Finance
For days now, political corridors had been wondering who would get Finance Ministry, especially after Arun Jaitley opted out of the new government citing poor health. Rumors claimed Piyush Goyal could be chosen, but staying true to his image of surprising everyone, PM Modi selected Sitharaman. Sitharaman is the second woman tasked with handling the important portfolio. The first woman to become FM was Indira Gandhi.
Economics is Sitharaman's strong forte
Sitharaman has the important task of steering India out of a looming economic crisis. The 59-year-old did her Bachelors (Economics), Masters, and M.Phil. A JNU alumna, she also served as senior manager R&D at PricewaterhouseCoopers . She has also been the Commerce Minister in Indian government. Notably, she will be assisted by young gun Anurag Thakur, who was named MoS (Finance).
A couple of big names retained their ministries
Piyush Goyal, widely referred to as BJP's go-to man, was named as Railways Minister, a portfolio which he handled in the last term as well. Similarly, Nitin Gadkari retained the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as well as the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Ravi Shankar Prasad was named the Law, Communication and IT Minister. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was named Minister of Jal Shakti.
Smriti Irani is the new Women and Child Development Minister
Smriti Irani, who emerged as giant-killer by defeating Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, was expected to get a plum position. This time she was made the Women and Child Development Minister, while retaining the Textiles Ministry. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was named the Minister of Minority Affairs. Prahlad Joshi will handle the ministries of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines.
Ph.D degree holder Ramesh Pokhriyal becomes HRD Minister
It seems PM Modi has learned from his past mistakes and is relying on field experts this time. Perhaps, that's why he named Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' as the HRD Minister. Pokhriyal, who hails from Uttarakhand, has a Ph.D. degree. Dr. Harshvardhan was named Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences.
Javadekar will handle environment and I&B
PM Modi gave the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution to ally Ram Vilas Paswan. SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal was given the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Thawaar Chand Gehlot was named Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Arjun Munda was made the minister of Tribal Affairs. Prakash Javadekar will handle the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and I&B Ministry
Giriraj Singh will handle Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries
Dharmendra Pradhan. Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey and Arvind Sawant will handle Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise, respectively. Giriraj Singh will handle Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries.
Kiren Rijiju named MoS of Sports Ministry
Dr. Jitendra Singh was named MoS (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; MoS in Prime Minister's Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; MoS Department of Atomic Energy; and MoS Department of Space. Kiren Rijiju was named MoS (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and MoS in Ministry of Minority Affairs.
