BJP chief Amit Shah has been given charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which takes care of India’s internal security, while Nirmala Seetharaman has been moved from Defence to Finance.
The move indicates that Narendra Modi expects things to remain ‘under control’ on the party front, even without a key loyalist at the helm. It is also a promotion for Shah, who has been working tirelessly to build up the organization across the country.
Shah has, in the past, worked as the home minister in Modi’s council of ministers in Gujarat.
The move could also mean that Modi feels the need for an extremely loyal and trustworthy ally in the ministry of home affairs, which controls key investigative agencies like Delhi Police, Intelligence Bureau and Central Bureau of Investigation.
According to the list of ministers for the new Narendra Modi Cabinet, former Home Minister Rajnath Singh has been moved to Defence.
Nitin Gadkari has been retained as the minister of Roads and Highways.
Narendra Singh Tomar has been given Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
VK Singh has been shifted as the deputy to Nitin Gadkari in the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
Smriti Irani has been given ministry of women and child development, which used to be handled by Maneka Gandhi, who is no longer in the council of ministers.
Arjun Munda has been given Tribal Affairs, while Ravi Shankar Prasad maintains ministries of Law & Justice, and will also hold charge of communications and IT.
Former foreign secretary S Jaishankar will be in charge of minister in charge of external affairs.
Giriraj Singh will handle animal husbandry ministry, while Dr Harshvardhan will handle health and family welfare. Dharmendra Pradhan has been retained in the oil ministry, in addition to being given charge of Steel.
CHART OF MINISTERS
- Narendra Modi
Prime Minister, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space - Cabinet Ministers
Shri Raj Nath Singh
Minister of Defence. - Shri Amit Shah
Minister of Home Affairs. - Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari
Minister of Road Transport and Highways; and
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. - Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers. - Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of Finance; and
Minister of Corporate Affairs. - Shri Ramvilas Paswan
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. - Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare;
Minister of Rural Development; and
Minister of Panchayati Raj. - Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
Minister of Law and Justice;
Minister of Communications; and
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology. - Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Minister of Food Processing Industries. - Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. - Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs. - Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
Minister of Human Resource Development. - Shri Arjun Munda
Minister of Tribal Affairs. - Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani
Minister of Women and Child Development; and Minister of Textiles. - Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Minister of Health and Family Welfare;
Minister of Science and Technology; and
Minister of Earth Sciences. - Shri Prakash Javadekar
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and
Minister of Information and Broadcasting. - Shri Piyush Goyal
Minister of Railways; and
Minister of Commerce and Industry. - Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and
Minister of Steel. - Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Minister of Minority Affairs. - Shri Pralhad Joshi
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs;
Minister of Coal; and
Minister of Mines. - Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey
Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.