Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath of office on Thursday along with his ministers, including Amit Shah, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is tipped to replace Arun Jaitley as the finance minister. Shah was not available for comment.

Jaitley, a lawyer-turned-politician with deep experience of navigating the complex political ecosystem, wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking to be kept out of government for health reasons.

The swearing-in ceremony was held with some 8,000 guests, including Bollywood stars and leaders of neighbours like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in attendance.

Modi focused his election campaign on national security after tension with Pakistan surged in February over a deadly bomb attack on security forces in Kashmir, which was claimed by Pakistan-based militants.

Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan was not invited to the inauguration.

The BJP controls 303 of the 545 seats in the Lok Sabha, paving the way for the possibility that Modi could attempt controversial land and labour reforms amid concern that the economy is faltering.

This week, two major industrial bodies called on the new government to take steps to bolster the economy, which grew 6.6% in the three months to December - the slowest in five quarters.

Modi pushed through reforms such as a goods and services tax and bankruptcy law in his first five-year term but faced criticism for failing to create enough jobs for people entering the job market, weak farm prices and tepid growth.