(updates with portfolio changes)

NEW DELHI, July 5 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted 19 new ministers into his cabinet on Tuesday to bolster his two-year-old administration but drew criticism that he was backtracking on a promise of lean government.

Indian news outlets on Tuesday night carried details, still not confirmed by the government, of the new portfolios. Modi may move his minister for human resources, Smriti Irani, seen as a close ally, to the textiles ministry, according to The Times of India and The Indian Express. The minister of state for finance, Jayant Sinha, may have moved to aviation from finance, according to the reports.

Prakash Javadekar, who was sworn in earlier in the day, is reportedly set to have taken on Irani’s portfolio as the new HRD minister.

Among other big changes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may have dropped his additional charge as information and broadcasting minister.

The ministers, announced by the government, were sworn in at a ceremony at the presidential palace but their portfolios have not yet been officially announced.

A top government source told Reuters Modi had dropped five of cabinet colleagues. A formal announcement on the changes was expected later on Tuesday.

With the expansion, the size of Modi’s cabinet has swelled to 78 - one of the biggest in years and a far cry from Modi’s 2014 election promise of “minimum government and maximum governance”.

“If this was a reform-minded government, you would be reducing the numbers of people and portfolios, shedding ministries,” said Manoj Joshi, a political expert at Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

“What you can read from this is that it is not particularly efficient or concerned about governance,” Joshi said, referring to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi swept to power in May 2014 on a promise of jobs and growth. However, critics have questioned his government’s performance and political analysts say the ruling party suffers from a shortage of experienced members.

A number of new ministers hail from India’s backward castes, members of which are widely expected to play a critical role in an election in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh next year.

That state election is likely to have a bearing on Modi’s bid to retain power in a general election, due by 2019.

“His eyes are set on his re-election in 2019,” said Neerja Chowdhury, an independent political analyst. “He has given representation to the social groups that voted for him in the last general election.” (Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes and Malini Menon; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Robert Birsel, Larry King)