Anurag Thakur, 46, was previously the Minister of State for Finance (File)
Anurag Thakur, the BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur who was sworn-in today as a Cabinet minister, has been entrusted with two important portfolios - Information and Broadcasting, and Sports.
Mr Thakur, 46, was previously the Minister of State for Finance. He is among six junior ministers who have been promoted to the union cabinet.
Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Parshottam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy, Mansukh Mandaviya are the other promoted ministers.
As MoS Finance, Mr Thakur, a four-time BJP MP, had been among the central government's main defenders on the economic front, especially amid the Covid-induced strain.
He is the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
Earlier in the day, Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister for Law and Electronic and Information Technology, had resigned as minister. Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan, DV Sadananda Gowda, Thawarchand Gehlot (he was named Governor), Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria and Pratap Chandra Sarangi had also resigned.
Thirty-six new ministers joined the government today. Mr Thakur and Hardeep Singh Puri, who had Civil Aviation charge, are among 15 new cabinet ministers sworn-in today.
Jyotiraditya Scindia has now been appointed as the Civil Aviation Minister, and Hardeep Puri will head the Urban Development and Petroleum Ministry.
Mansukh Mandaviya has got the crucial health ministry and will retain the Ministry of Chemical Fertilizers; Ashwani Vashnav is the new Railway Minister. The law ministry has gone to Kiren Rijiju.
Pankaj Choudhary is the new Minister of State for Finance.