The Modi 3.0 era is underway in India, and with the list of union cabinet ministers finalised, it remained to be seen who got what. However, all confusion was allayed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre announced the new ministry list.
Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who held the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in the previous government, has retained his portfolio, while a surprise addition, Assam Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita was given charge as a Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Textiles.
PM Modi, as custom dictates, got 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.
The composition of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) remained unchanged. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar continued to hold their respective portfolios of Defence, Home, Finance, and External Affairs, as they did in the previous NDA administration.
The announcement of these portfolios came via a press communique from the President's Secretariat, following the swearing-in of the council of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The allocations were made based on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Consistent with the previous term, Home Minister Amit Shah also serves as the Minister of Cooperation, while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman retains the Corporate Affairs portfolio. In addition to overseeing all unassigned portfolios and major policy issues, Prime Minister Modi remains in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy, and the Department of Space.
Several other key cabinet ministers have retained their portfolios. Nitin Gadkari continues as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Sarbananda Sonowal remains the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Bhupendra Yadav holds onto Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Virendra Kumar stays as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Ashwini Vaishnaw continues as the Minister of Railways and Electronics and Information Technology, now also overseeing the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Piyush Goyal retains his role as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dharmendra Pradhan remains the Union Minister for Education, and Hardeep Singh Puri continues as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Notably, BJP chief JP Nadda, a former member of PM Modi's 2014 cabinet, will now serve as the Health Minister, also handling the Chemicals and Fertilizers portfolio.
In a significant shift, Telugu Desam Party's Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has been appointed the new Civil Aviation Minister, a position previously held by BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The distribution of these portfolios was disclosed a day after the NDA government's swearing-in ceremony, following their decisive victory in the Lok Sabha elections, marking their third consecutive win.
