Key ministers retain portfolios; Shivraj gets Agriculture, Nadda returns to Health Ministry
The BJP has kept important ministries like Defense, Foreign, Education and Health with itself.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi retained Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar in charge of the four high-profile ministries - Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs - respectively in his new government. Nitin Gadkari has been given the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the third time in a row. The BJP has kept important ministries like Defense, Foreign, Education and Health with itself.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. While BJP National President JP Nadda has returned to the Health Ministry, a portfolio he had held in the Modi government's first term. He has also been given the responsibility of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh has been made the Minister of Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy. Prahlad Joshi has got the ministries of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable. Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal will also continue to be in charge of the Education, and Commerce and Industry ministries respectively. Hardeep Singh Puri has retained the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has been appointed the Minister of Food Processing Industries. Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar will handle two important ministries - Housing, Urban Affairs and Energy. While Jitan Ram Manjhi has been given the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Bhupendra Yadav has been made the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change this time too.
Ashwini Vaishnav, who was the Railway Ministry in the previous government, has also been given the responsibility of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology along with the Ministry of Railways and Information and Broadcasting. Kiren Rijiju has been moved from Earth Sciences to the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, and Sarbananda Sonowal has retained the Shipping portfolio.
Among the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Rao Indrajit Singh has been given the responsibility of the Ministry of Planning and Culture besides the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. Jayant Chaudhary has been made Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education. Arjun Ram Meghwal will continue as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice;
Among the five members of the BJP's allies in the Union Cabinet, JD(Secular)'s H D Kumaraswamy has got Heavy Industries, and Steel ministries, Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-Secular) has Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, and Lalan Singh (Janata Dal-United) Panchayati Raj, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Ministries. TDP's K Rammohan Naidu has got the Civil Aviation Ministry.
C R Patil has got the Jal Shakti Ministry, while Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who held the portfolio in the previous term, will be the Culture and Tourism Minister. Virendra Kumar has retained the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, while Jual Oram is the new Tribal Affairs Minister.
Amit Shah has also retained the Cooperation Ministry, while Sitharaman will continue to handle the Corporate Affairs. G Kishan Reddy has been given the Coal and Mines Ministry. Giriraj Singh has been shifted from the Rural Development to Textiles Ministry. Jyotiraditya Scindia, former aviation minister, is now in charge of Communications, and Development of North Eastern Region Ministries. Annapurna Devi is the new Women and Child Development Minister.
