PM Modi and the Council of Ministers after the swearing-in in May
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new ministers will take oath in the Durbar Hall of the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhawan at 1.30 pm on Sunday, sources have said.
Among those who will take oath on Sunday is Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is tipped to be India's next Defence Minister. Mr Parrikar said he would resign as Goa chief minister tomorrow. His successor in the state will be elected and sworn in tomorrow.
Mr Parrikar will take over from Arun Jaitley, who has held dual charge of the Finance and Defence ministries for the last five months.
The BJP's allies Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party or TDP are expected to get more ministers at the Centre and have reportedly been asked to send in names.
There is buzz that Smriti Irani, the youngest cabinet minister, could move from Human Resource Development to Information and Broadcasting.
There could be some promotions. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar, who currently holds the Information and Broadcasting and the Environment portfolios, could be elevated to Cabinet rank, sources said.
The Finance Ministry could get a new minister of state to assist Mr Jaitley and the name of Jayant Sinha is doing the rounds. Jayant Sinha is the son of former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and also belongs to Jharkhand, where elections are due next month.
There could also be redistribution of ministries to relieve senior ministers who juggle multiple portfolios like Nitin Gadkari - Transport and Rural Development - and Ravi Shankar Prasad - Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Law and Justice.
There has reportedly been a performance based assessment of ministers and at least two, said sources, could get the axe on account of a poor showing.
The government has unofficially conveyed to the President that there will an oath ceremony for new ministers on Sunday, sources said. An official intimation is expected by Saturday.
PM Modi took oath in May this year with a slim team of 45 ministers; this will be the first cabinet expansion. There are currently 22 cabinet members and another 22 ministers of state, including 10 with independent charge.
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