Amit Shah gets home, Rajnath-Defence & Sitharaman-finance |
Modi government allocated the portfolios to its new ministers on Saturday. Nirmala Sitharaman who handled the Defence Ministry in the last Modi cabinet got the key Finance Ministry. BJP president Amit Shah got the Home Ministry while former Home Minister Rajnath Singh has been given the responsibility of Defence Ministry. Former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar`s inclusion in the cabinet shows Modi`s desire to have experts handling key areas. Former Indian Foreign Service Officer Hardeep Singh Puri, who lost Lok Sabha election from Amritsar, has also been inducted. The first meeting of the new Union Cabinet took place on saturday evening. The Union Cabinet for the 17th Lok Sabha includes 24 cabinet ministers, 9 ministers of state with independent charge and 24 Ministers of State (MoS). The new Council of Ministers has representation from almost all the states, except Andhra Pradesh and the north¬eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. With representation from almost all states spreading across various caste and social groups, the new government has sought to broaden BJPs reach with induction of some first ¬time MPs while nearly half of his previous Cabinet ministers have been replaced. With only 57 ministers having been sworn¬ in on Thursday, Modi has enough scope for an expansion and reshuffle of cabinet.
|
|
|
|