Defence goes to Rajnath and former diplomat Jaishankar is the new External Affairs Minister.

The contours of the new Modi government were clear after portfolios were announced for the Union Council of Ministers, with BJP national president Amit Shah being allotted the Home Ministry and former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar being made the External Affairs Minister. Both new faces immediately also became members of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the most powerful Cabinet sub-committee.

Former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be the new Finance Minister and former Home Minister Rajnath Singh will take over as the Defence Minister.

Change at the top

Prime Minister Modi has made bold changes in the top four Ministries that form the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), with Mr. Jaishankar being the biggest gainer, having joined the government as a Cabinet Minister and inducted straight into the CCS. However, many other Ministers have retained their portfolios from the first Modi government, with some being given additional departments.

Senior Minister Nitin Gadkari continues as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Ravi Shankar Prasad stays on as the Law Minister, along with Information Technology and Telecommunications.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal retains charge of the Ministry with the addition of Commerce, which was earlier held by Suresh Prabhu who has been dropped. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan retains the crucial portfolio and has been given the additional responsibility of Steel.

Giant killer Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and was expected to be moved up in the hierarchy, continues with her old portfolio of Textiles, along with Women and Child Development, formerly held by Maneka Gandhi.

New Ministry

One of the major gainers among Cabinet Ministers was former Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who will head the newly created “Jal Shakti” Ministry. Mr. Modi had said at the BJP’s manifesto launch in April that the Ministry would be a priority area for the new government. The Agriculture portfolio has been allotted to Narendra Singh Tomar, along with his old portfolios of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

Allies retain portfolios in new Cabinet

Several Ministers from the previous government retained their portfolios, with some given additional charge.

Thawarchand Gehlot has again been allotted the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda being the new Tribal Affairs Minister.

Newly inducted Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” is the new Minister for Human Resources, while Prakash Javadekar has been made the new Minister for Environment and Forests and of Information and Broadcasting. Pralhad Joshi will take care of Coal along with Parliamentary Affairs. Minister of State with Independent charge, Kiren Rijiju is Sports Minister. R.K. Singh continues to hold power and renewable energy, while Hardeep Puri has been allotted Civil Aviation.

Among allies, Harsimrat Kaur Badal continues to hold Food Processing, Ram Vilas Paswan stays with Food and Consumer Affairs, Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant will hold heavy industries and Ramdas Athawale continues as junior Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.

Prime Minister Modi will himself hold the portfolios of Department of Personnel and Training, Atomic Energy and Space. .

Here is the list of Ministers and their portfolios:

Name Portfolio Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime Minister and 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. Rajnath Singh Minister for Defence. Amit Shah Minister for Home Affairs. Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister for Road Transport and Highways; and Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. D.V. Sadananda Gowda Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers. Nirmala Sitharaman Minister for Finance; and Minister for Corporate Affairs. Ram Vilas Paswan Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Narendra Singh Tomar Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister for Rural Development; and Minister for Panchayati Raj. Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister for Law and Justice; Minister for Communications; and Minister for Electronics and Information Technology. Harsimrat Kaur Badal Minister for Food Processing Industries. Thaawar Chand Gehlot Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. S. Jaishankar Minister for External Affairs. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Minister for Human Resources Development. Arjun Munda Minister for Tribal Affairs. Smriti Irani Minister for Women and Child Development; and Minister for Textiles. Dr. Harsh Vardhan Minister for Health and Family Welfare; Minister for Science and Technology; and Minister for Earth Sciences. Prakash Javadekar Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister for Information and Broadcasting. Piyush Goyal Minister for Railways; and Minister for Commerce and Industry. Dharmendra Pradhan Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister for Steel. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister for Minority Affairs. Pralhad Joshi Minister for Parliamentary Affairs; Minister for Coal; and Minister for Mines. Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Arvind Sawant Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise. Giriraj Singh Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister for 'Jal Shakti'.

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

Santosh Kumar Gangwar Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning. Shripad Yesso Naik Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); and Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence. Dr. Jitendra Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; 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. Kiren Rijiju Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Prahalad Singh Patel Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism. Raj Kumar Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Mansukh L. Mandaviya Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Shipping; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Ministers of State