In the third term of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, key ministers have retained their pivotal portfolios in NDA government, according to the list released on Monday following the first Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari are among those who have retained their positions.
Additionally, ministers like Hardeep Singh Puri (Petroleum and Natural Gas), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry), and Dharmendra Pradhan (Education) have retained their respective ministries.
Some changes have been made with BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda now holding Health and Family Welfare, along with Chemicals and Fertilisers.
Former Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Manohar Lal Khattar have entered the Union Cabinet, taking charge of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Housing and Urban Affairs respectively.
Furthermore, CR Patil from the BJP’s Gujarat unit has been assigned the crucial Jal Shakti Ministry in his first stint in the Union Cabinet.
Several ministers have been allocated different portfolios compared to the previous government.
From the allies, TDP’s Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu has been appointed Civil Aviation, JD-S’ H.D. Kumaraswamy received Heavy Industry and Steel, and HAM-S’s Jitan Ram Manjhi is now the MSME Minister.
Among Ministers of State (Independent Charge), Rao Inderjit Singh has been assigned Statistics and Programme Implementation, and Planning, while Jitendra Singh will handle Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and serve as Minister of State in the PMO.
The list also includes key Ministers of State like Jitin Prasada (Commerce and Industry and Electronics and IT) and BJP’s first-ever Kerala MP Suresh Gopi (Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism).