In a massive Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, July 6th, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped 12 senior ministers and inducted a younger team aimed at refurbishing his government’s image after widespread criticism of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 junior ministers were sworn in by President Kovind at a ceremony in the presidential palace. Eight junior ministers were elevated to Cabinet rank.
Hours after 43 leaders took oath as ministers in the RashtrapatiBhavan, the Centre allocated portfolios to the newly inducted ministers. While Home Minister Amit Shah will be in charge of the newly created Ministry of Cooperation, Ashwini Vasihnaw has been given ministries of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology. KirenRijiju will be the new Minister of Law and Justice. Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, whose response to the epidemic came under close examination, Education Minister Ramesh PokhriyalNishank, Law and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar were among those who resigned hours ahead of the reshuffle. Prasad was involved in a bitter row with Twitter over India’s new internet regulations, which digital activists say could curtail online speech and privacy. He has been replaced by Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Mansukh Mandaviya replaces Dr. Vardhan as the new Health Minister, says a statement by the president’s office. He is from Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Modi retained Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister SubrahmanyamJaishankar. Other key portfolios were given to KirenRijiju (Law and Justice), Hardeep Singh Puri (Petroleum and Natural Gas), Bhupender Yadav (Environment), Anurag Singh Thakur (Information and Broadcasting) and Dharmendra Pradhan (Education).
JyotiradityaScindia — one of the BJP’s high-profile acquisitions from the Congress — has been given charge of the Civil aviation ministry at a time the sector is struggling under the Covid onslaught. The ministry was once handled by his father MadhavraoScindia, who died in a plane crash in 2001. It is the first Cabinet reshuffle since Modi was returned to power for a second term in 2019. The government is facing increasing criticism for its handling of the pandemic. Vardhan, who was in charge of the Health Ministry as well as the Science and Technology Ministry, led the response to the pandemic.
“In one clean sweep, you have senior ministers being removed. The government has admitted by these changes that it has failed miserably in handling the pandemic as it should have,” said NilanjanMukhopadhyay, a well-known journalist and political analyst. As the country braces for a third wave of Covid following a debilitating second surge, Mansukh Mandaviya has been given the challenge of leading the containment efforts as the head of the crucial health ministry. His junior minister will be DrBharatiPawar. In addition, he would retain the Ministry of Chemical Fertilizers.
More than half of India’s reported 400,000 coronavirus deaths — the third most of any country — have occurred over the past two months as the delta variant of the virus tore through the nation and overwhelmed its already strained health system. New cases are on the decline after exceeding 400,000 a day in May, but authorities are preparing for another possible wave and are trying to ramp up vaccinations. The reshuffle also came after the defeat of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in April elections in key West Bengal state, a test of its handling of the pandemic.
Modi will face another major test of his popularity in legislative elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand states in February and March next year, which may prove to be a bellwether for his party’s fate in 2024 national elections. “I congratulate all the colleagues who have taken oath today and wish them the very best for their ministerial tenure. We will continue working to fulfil aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India,” PM Modi had tweeted after the oath ceremony this evening.
RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
PRESS COMMUNIQUE
The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed the allocation of portfolios among the following members of the Council of Ministers :-
| Shri Narendra Modi | Prime Minister and also in-charge of:
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 |
CABINET MINISTERS
| 1. | Shri Raj Nath Singh | Minister of Defence |
| 2. | Shri Amit Shah | Minister of Home Affairs; and
Minister of Cooperation |
| 3. | Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari | Minister of Road Transport and Highways |
| 4. | Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance; and
Minister of Corporate Affairs |
| 5. | Shri Narendra Singh Tomar | Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 6. | Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | Minister of External Affairs |
| 7. | Shri Arjun Munda | Minister of Tribal Affairs |
| 8. | Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani | Minister of Women and Child Development |
CABINET MINISTERS (CONTD.)
| 9. | Shri Piyush Goyal | Minister of Commerce and Industry;
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of Textiles |
| 10. | Shri Dharmendra Pradhan | Minister of Education; and
Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| 11. | Shri Pralhad Joshi | Minister of
Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines |
| 12. | Shri Narayan Tatu Rane | Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 13. | Shri Sarbananda Sonowal | Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and
Minister of AYUSH |
| 14. | Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi | Minister of Minority Affairs |
| 15. | Dr. Virendra Kumar | Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 16. | Shri Giriraj Singh | Minister of Rural Development; and
Minister of Panchayati Raj |
| 17. | Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia | Minister of Civil Aviation |
| 18. | Shri Ramchandra Prasad Singh | Minister of Steel |
| 19. | Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw | Minister of Railways;
Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology |
CABINET MINISTERS (CONTD.)
| 20. | Shri Pashu Pati Kumar Paras | Minister of Food Processing Industries |
| 21. | Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | Minister of Jal Shakti |
| 22. | Shri Kiren Rijiju | Minister of Law and Justice |
| 23. | Shri Raj Kumar Singh | Minister of Power; and
Minister of New and Renewable Energy |
| 24. | Shri Hardeep Singh Puri | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and
Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 25. | Shri Mansukh Mandaviya | Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 26. | Shri Bhupender Yadav | Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and
Minister of Labour and Employment |
| 27. | Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey | Minister of Heavy Industries |
| 28. | Shri Parshottam Rupala | Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| 29. | Shri G. Kishan Reddy | Minister of Culture;
Minister of Tourism; and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region |
| 30. | Shri Anurag Singh Thakur | Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports |
MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
| 1. | Rao Inderjit Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation;
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| 2. | Dr. Jitendra Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology;
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space |
MINISTERS OF STATE
| 1. | Shri Shripad Yesso Naik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| 2. | Shri Faggansingh Kulaste | Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| 3. | Shri Prahalad Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries |
| 4. | Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
| 5. | Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| 6. | General (Retd.) V. K. Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| 7. | Shri Krishan Pal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries |
| 8. | Shri Danve Raosaheb Dadarao | Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways;
Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines |
| 9. | Shri Ramdas Athawale | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 10. | Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| 11. | Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| 12. | Shri Nityanand Rai | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 13. | Shri Pankaj Chaowdhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| 14. | Smt. Anupriya Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 15. | Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice |
| 16. | Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology |
| 17. | Sushri Shobha Karandlaje | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 18. | Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 19. | Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways |
| 20. | Shri V. Muraleedharan | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs |
| 21. | Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| 22. | Shri Som Parkash | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 23. | Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
| 24. | Shri Rameswar Teli | Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| 25. | Shri Kailash Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 26. | Smt. Annpurna Devi | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 27. | Shri A. Narayanaswamy | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 28. | Shri Kaushal Kishore | Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 29. | Shri Ajay Bhatt | Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| 30. | Shri B. L. Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation |
| 31. | Shri Ajay Kumar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 32. | Shri Devusinh Chauhan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications |
| 33. | Shri Bhagwanth Khuba | Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 34. | Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil | Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj |
| 35. | Sushri Pratima Bhoumik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 36. | Dr. Subhas Sarkar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 37. | Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| 38. | Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 39. | Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| 40. | Shri Bishweswar Tudu | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti |
| 41. | Shri Shantanu Thakur | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways |
| 42. | Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai | Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH |
| 43. | Shri John Barla | Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs |
| 44. | Dr. L. Murugan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| 45. | Shri Nisith Pramanik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and
Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports |
