Cabinet Reshuffle: Sitharaman Gets Defence; Goyal New Rail Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook the third reshuffle of the Union Cabinet today to fill key vacancies and bring in new faces keeping in mind key state elections and eventually the 2019 general elections.

Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have been given Cabinet rank

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Virendra Kumar sworn in as Ministers of State.

Former Mumbai police chief Satya Pal Singh, former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam, former Home Secretary RK Singh, Anant Kumar Hegde and former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri also sworn in as MoS.

For the detailed list of Modi’s council of ministers, click here.

Santosh Kumar Gangwar, who was made MoS (Independent Charge) of Labour and Employment told BloombergQuint over phone that job creation is a priority whether it comes from the private or public sector.

“India's population is among the youngest in the world, we must have adequate job creation,” he said.

Gangwar also said that there is a need to have easier labour laws and that his ministry will ensure that difficult tasks are completed with ease.

• Santosh Kumar Gangwar: MoS (IC) (Labour and Employment) (Earlier MoS Finance)
• Giriraj Singh: MoS (IC) (MSME)
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: MoS (IC) of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Additional Charge)
• RK Singh: MoS (IC) (Power) and MoS (IC) (New and Renewable Energy)
• Hardeep Puri: MoS (IC) (Housing and Urban Affairs)
• Satya Pal Singh: MoS (HRD) and MoS (Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvination)

Nirmala Sitharaman will be India’s new Defence Minister. Suresh Prabhu, who was moved out of the Railways ministry will be the new Commerce Minister.

Piyush Goyal, who was elevated to cabinet rank has been appointed as the new Railways Minister.

Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari has been given additional charge of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Here are the other key appointments:

• Alphons Kannanthanam appointed MoS (Independent Charge), Ministry of Tourism and MoS Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to also get additional charge of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
• Uma Bharti will now be Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Hardeep Puri appointed MoS Urban Development
• Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will now be Minister of Mino

Along with the Railways, Piyush Goyal has retained the Coal Ministry.

Ministers who were elevated to cabinet rank: Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Two former bureaucrats, one retired diplomat and an ex-police official are among nine new faces to be inducted into the council of ministers today in a major revamp by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, official sources told PTI on Saturday.

Three of the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliaments being inducted -- Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat -- are from Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively where Assembly polls are due next year.

Former Indian Administrative Services officer Alphons Kannanthanam, who hails from Kerala, is another pick by Modi, a move seen as the BJP's efforts to expand its base in the southern state to take on the ruling Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M).

The other new faces to be included in the ministry are BJP MPs Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Bihar), Shiv Pratap Shukla (Uttar Pradesh), former Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh (Bihar), former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh, the sources said.

They will take oath at 10.30 a.m. today at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. They, however, did not clarify whether any of the new entrants would be given a Cabinet berth.

Also Read: All You Need to Know About Modi’s 9 New Ministers