A number of key portfolios - including Health, Law, Information and Technology and Railways - have gone to new ministers and junior ministers who got a promotion in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers that underwent a reboot today.
The number of cabinet ministers has been boosted from 21 to 30 in the current reshuffle. The number of junior ministers has gone up too, from 23 to 45. There are fewer junior ministers with Independent Charge - the figure has dropped from nine to two.
Thirty-six new ministers joined the government and four high-profile ministers quit today in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega cabinet reboot to offset criticism as the country emerges from a fierce second wave of Covid ahead of key elections.
PM Modi now has 77 ministers, nearly half of them new. Anurag Thakur and Hardeep Puri are among 15 new cabinet ministers.
Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane, Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw were also sworn in as cabinet ministers.
But the exits of IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar stood out on a day resignations made bigger news than new ministers.
This is PM Modi's first major overhaul of the Union Cabinet since he took office for a second term in 2019.
Here are the Highlights on PM Modi's Cabinet Reshuffle:
Smriti Zubin Irani continues to head the Women and Child Development Ministry in the refreshed Union Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Textiles Ministry, which she also headed, has gone to former Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
Ms Irani was Human Resource Development Minister from May 2014 to July 2016 and Minister for Information and Broadcasting from July 2017 to May 2018. She is India's first woman to hold office as Union Minister for Human Resource Development and as Union Minister of Textiles.
She took charge as Women and Child Development Minister in June 2019.
Home Minister Amit Shah greeted all Union ministers who were sworn in Wednesday and expressed hope they will do their best in taking the welfare policies of the Modi government to the people with full devotion and dedication to realise the resolve of a self-reliant India, reported news agency PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi effected a reshuffle in his Council of Ministers - the first since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
"Congratulations to all the colleagues who took oath as the minister. I am sure that the entire cabinet under the leadership of @narendramodi ji will make its best contribution in taking the welfare policies of the government to the people with full devotion and dedication and in realising the resolve of self-reliant India," Amit Shah tweeted in Hindi.
Four doctors - Heena Gavit, Mahendra Munjapara, Bharati Pawar and Bhagwat Karad - former broadcast engineer Devusinh Chauhan and former Thane District Co-operative Bank chairman Kapil Patil are among those inducted into the Union Council of Ministers Wednesday.
In today's reboot, the number of Cabinet Ministers has been increased from 21 to 30, and Ministers of State from 23 to 45. However, the number of Ministers of State (Independent Charge) has been cut to two from nine earlier.
Thirty-six new ministers joined the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega cabinet reboot today. Fifteen of the 44 ministers who took oath today will be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Rajya Sabha MP Dharmendra Pradhan, who has been handling the petroleum ministry till now in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term, will now handle the education portfolio, following today's cabinet reshuffle. Piyush Goyal, who, too, is a member of the upper house, will henceforth handle the textile ministry.
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.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, who crossed over to the BJP in March 2020, leading to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, has been appointed the Civil Aviation Minister, and Hardeep Puri, who used to head this ministry, will head the Urban Development and Petroleum Ministry.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the new Railways Minister and head the Information and Technology Ministry as well, the government announced on Wednesday.
"A former IAS Officer of the 1994 batch, he handled important responsibilities over 15 years and was particularly known for his contribution to the PPP framework in Infrastructure," the government said in a note.
"Post that, he has held leadership roles across major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens," it said.
"He has a MBA from Wharton School, Pennsylvania University and MTech from IIT Kanpur," it added.
Mansukh Mandaviya, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat who was Minister of State (Independent Charge), is the new Health Minister of India, the government said today.
The announcement came soon after 43 ministers took oath in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's revamped cabinet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated 43 of his colleagues who took oath today in the refreshed Union cabinet. Thirty-six new ministers joined the government and seven got promoted.
Bureaucrat, politician and now a Union Minister, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh's meteoric rise began when he grabbed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's attention.
Meetings of Cabinet and Council of Ministers to be held tomorrow at 5 pm and 7 pm respectively, reported news agency ANI citing sources.
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who was sworn in as Union Minister of State today, belongs to an erstwhile royal clan of Manipur and has worked for unity among the various tribes in his state.
A popular face of the BJP and a good orator, Meenakshi Lekhi has for long articulated and advocated the party's policies and programmes while taking on her political opponents before she found a place in the Union Council of Ministers.
54-year-old Meenakshi Lekhi, who took oath as a Union Minister of State on her second term as the MP from the New Delhi constituency, has been at the forefront of struggles on a host of issues ranging from those pertaining to women and the environment to law and development, reported news agency PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet got a facelift today amid efforts to reinvigorate the administration that has been heavily criticised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, soaring prices of essentials among a range of issues.
Having spent over three decades in public life, Kaushal Kishore today was sworn in as a Union minister in the Narendra Modi government.
Sworn in as a Union minister today evening, 60-year-old Ajay Kumar Mishra is a first-time BJP MP, representing the Kheri Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, reported news agency PTI. He was elected as an MLA in 2012 from the Nighasan Assembly seat.
The newly inducted ministers have been directed to remain in Delhi till August 15 and have been asked to do all ministerial work from the Parliament when the monsoon session is underway, sources told NDTV. The ministers have also been asked to schedule meetings with other members of the Parliament, they added.
The ministers have been directed to remain present at the time of their roster duty in the Parliament, the sources further said.
15 Ministers inducted into the Union Cabinet including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Puri. pic.twitter.com/rO6WK02Vh2
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
28 Ministers inducted as Ministers of State including Meenakshi Lekhi, Pankaj Choudhary, Anupriya Patel, Shobha Karandlaje #CabinetExpansion2021 pic.twitter.com/JRcm09roY4
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
Congratulations and best wishes to @rajeev_mp, @ShobhaBJP, @ANarayana_swamy and @bhagwantkhuba on being inducted into the Union Council of Ministers from Karnataka.
- B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 7, 2021
Let us work to further state progress across all sectors under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji.
"The economy of the country is in shambles... what we require is the resignation of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman)": Charan Singh Sapra (@Charanssapra), spokesperson, Congress#CabinetReshuffle pic.twitter.com/Ty181TQgMH
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Celebrations at BJP leader Anurag Thakur's residence after he was promoted to Cabinet rank pic.twitter.com/dOiFP4gg5K
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
"Unable to feel happy that Tamil Nadu has got a Union Minister. The country has suffered a setback in all fields. Cabinet reshuffle should have been done to recover from this fall.
But this is being done having in mind the leaders, those who came from other parties, upcoming state elections. May be beneficial for the BJP. What's for the country?" Kamal Haasan said.
#CabinetReshuffle | Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp), BJP's organisational man, is now in Prime Minister Modi's Union Council of Ministers. pic.twitter.com/E8szOAeHnE
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) gets a promotion, now a Cabinet Minister. pic.twitter.com/sFxtZ2AMBR
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Anupriya Patel (@AnupriyaSPatel), a key ally for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, makes a comeback into the Union Council of Ministers. pic.twitter.com/Jk1bTNv2GM
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetExpansion2021 | Bhagwanth Khuba, Kapil Moreshwar Patil and Pratima Bhoumik take oath as ministers
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
(ANI) pic.twitter.com/kgxmZlB3Wq
#CabinetExpansion2021 | Subhas Sarkar, Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, take oath as ministers (ANI) pic.twitter.com/mQr5f1Wa2A
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
A moment of immense pride for #Tripura that @PratimaBhoumik ji, a foremost representative of #NariShakti of the state, has joined PM Shri @narendramodi led Union Council of Ministers.
- Biplab Kumar Deb (@BjpBiplab) July 7, 2021
I extend my heartiest wishes and pray to Ma Tripursundari for her success as a Union Minister. pic.twitter.com/zeXsdDLkT1
Meghalaya and the whole of North East is elated with the induction of Sh. @KirenRijiju Ji and Sh. @sarbanandsonwal into the Union Cabinet today. The #CabinetReshuffle proves inclusivity and diversity which is the essence of a New India. Congratulations brothers! pic.twitter.com/iCCRO6BX4b
- Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) promoted to Cabinet rank pic.twitter.com/zv8VJw8LfP
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
Ravi Shankar Prasad changes his Twitter bio to Member of Parliament from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha, Bihar. BJP worker after resigning ahead of the big cabinet reshuffle.
#CabinetReshuffle | Jyotiraditya Scindia (@JM_Scindia) is back in the Union Cabinet after 7 years. pic.twitter.com/8oQ8NymgqM
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Hajipur MP Pashu Pati Kumar Paras, brother of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, is now a Cabinet Minister. pic.twitter.com/oTQZhAUGbm
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Former Assam Chief Minister @sarbanandsonwal sworn-in as Cabinet Minister pic.twitter.com/nmzB0vRLuR
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetReshuffle | Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane is now a part of the Modi Cabinet.
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/2O0tdFIYZ7 pic.twitter.com/TWnMjLdoDc
#CabinetReshuffle | Meenakshi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi), Annapurna Devi (@Annapurna4BJP), A Narayanaswamy and Kaushal Kishore take oath as ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/lmClX2V6gZ
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
#CabinetExpansion2021 | Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Shobha Karandlaje and Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma take oath as ministers. pic.twitter.com/15nVfmdgbu
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
Sobha Karandlaje, a close aide of BS Yediyurappa, sworn in as a minister
#CabinetExpansion2021 | Pankaj Choudhary, Anupriya Singh Patel, and Satya Pal Singh Baghel take oath as ministers. pic.twitter.com/LCBnWLf6pn
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel takes oath as a minister
#FAILED
- Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) July 7, 2021
Covid19 prep. Vaccination. Pandemic management. Economy. Job creation. Farmer welfare. National Education Policy. Parliament. Destroying institutions and federalism. Women empowerment.
When the full CUPBOARD is in bad shape, what do U do ?
Change just the cabinet🤪
Supporters of BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia celebrate his inclusion in the new Union Cabinet, outside the BJP office in Bhopal.
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
"There is enthusiasm among MP youth. We are celebrating, distributing sweets as Modiji has given an opportunity to youth leadership," said a supporter pic.twitter.com/jR2H1q0Xh4
Mansukh Mandaviya takes oath as a Cabinet Minister
Kiren Rijiju elevated to a Cabinet Minister takes oath
Congratulations to Shri @sarbanandsonwal Ji on being sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister.
- Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) July 7, 2021
My best wishes on your new role. You are an inspiration to all of us.
We are highly hopeful of your positive and impactful role in the development of our country. pic.twitter.com/X5kyXbUOf1
Ramchandra Prasad Singh, a close aide of Nitish Kumar and President of the JD(U), sworn in as minister. He is the only minister to be inducted into the Cabinet from the Janata Dal United.
Narayan Rane takes oath as a minister
Visuals from inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan of 43 leaders including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Bhupender Yadav, Anupriya Patel, Shobha Karandlaje, Meenakshi Lekhi, Anurag Thakur, who will be taking oath as part of Union Cabinet expansion,today pic.twitter.com/g1x2ssv0u8
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
PM Modi has sacked around 20% of ministers from his Council of Ministers - roughly one out of every five ministers has been shuffled out. It includes seven Cabinet-rank ministers.
Watch LIVE: Who's joining the new cabinet
If the Union Education Minister and his MoS are asked to resign, what does it say about the New Education Policy that was unveiled with great fanfare?
- P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 7, 2021
The NEP has been criticised by States, political parties, educationists, teachers, academics and scholars.
Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar quit as Union Ministers today, in big upsets ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle.
Ravi Shankar Prasad was Minister for Law and Electronics and IT and had lately been locked in a bitter feud with social media companies, mainly Twitter, over new IT rules.
1. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
2. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad
3. Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot
4. Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'
5. Dr. Harsh Vardhan
6. Shri Prakash Javadekar
7. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar
8. Shri Babul Supriyo
9. Shri Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao
10. Shri Rattan Lal Kataria
11. Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi
In a mega cabinet reshuffle that will see several new faces in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, ministers seen to be high performers are likely to be promoted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet grows in strength from 54 ministers, including PM Modi, to 78 ministers.
There is a lesson for ministers in these resignations. If things go right the credit will go to the PM, if things go wrong the Minister will be the fall guy.
- P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 7, 2021
That is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning subservience.
Several Dalits, backward caste members are being made ministers. They are doing it from the point of polls. This is being done to distract people. They are not doing this for welfare of communities but because of their compulsion: Cong MP Mallikarjun Kharge on Cabinet expansion pic.twitter.com/GhUZbjIpRR
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
BJP MP Babul Supriyo today announced he has resigned as junior minister in the Environment Ministry. In a post on Facebook, the former Minister of State said he is "extremely happy" that he left the stint "without a spot of corruption on me". Mr Supriyo congratulated some leaders from Bengal who are going to be part of the refreshed Union cabinet, and added - "I am surely sad for myself."
Rameshwar Teli has been retained as Minister of State for Food processing. Kiren Rijiju has been promoted. Sarbananda Sonowal returns to Delhi and two new faces have been inducted - Dr RK Ranjan Singh and Pratima Bhowmik.
2. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal
3. Dr. Virendra Kumar
4. Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia
5. Shri Ramchandra Prasad Singh
6. Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw
7. Shri Pashu Pati Kumar Paras
8. Shri Kiren Rijiju
9. Shri Raj Kumar Singh
10. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri
11. Shri Mansukh Mandaviya
12. Shri Bhupender Yadav
13. Shri Parshottam Rupala
14. Shri G. Kishan Reddy
15. Shri Anurag Singh Thakur
16. Shri Pankaj Choudhary
17. Smt. Anupriya Singh Patel
18. Dr. Satya Pal Singh Baghel
19. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar
20. Sushri Shobha Karandlaje
21. Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma
22. Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh
23. Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi
24. Smt. Annpurna Devi
25. Shri A. Narayanaswamy
26. Shri Kaushal Kishore
27. Shri Ajay Bhatt
28. Shri B. L. Verma
29.Shri Ajay Kumar
30. Shri Chauhan Devusinh
31. Shri Bhagwanth Khuba
32.Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil
33. Sushri Pratima Bhoumik
34. Dr. Subhas Sarkar
35. Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
36. Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
37. Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar
38. Shri Bishweswar Tudu
39. Shri Shantanu Thakur
40.Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai
41. Shri John Barla
42. Dr. L. Murugan
43. Shri Nisith Pramanik
36 new ministers will take oath today as PM Modi revamps his cabinet. Seven Ministers of State and Ministers of State (Independent Charge) are to be promoted. At least 11 have resigned from their posts so far and one has been appointed Governor of a state.
Kaushal Kishore
SP Baghel
Pankaj Choudhury
BL Verma
Ajay Mishra
Bhanu Pratap Sharma
ANupriya Patel
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health Ashwini Chaube both resigned today, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle.
- Harsh Vardhan
- Babul Supriyo
- Ashwini Kumar Choubey
- Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
- Santosh Gangwar
- Sanjay Dhotre
- Debasree Chaudhuri
- Ratan Lal Kataria
- Sadananda Gowda
- Thawarchand Gehlot
- Rao Saheb Danve Patil
Pratap Sarangi, Rao Saheb Danve Patil and Sadananda Gowda have also quit as ministers.
Lok Sabha MP Pratima Bhowmik likely in new cabinet.
Will go to President's House today. I am hopeful: BJP MP Nisith Pramanik, on being asked about Union Cabinet expansion pic.twitter.com/8DhcdukntO
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
There will be 14 ministers below the age of 50 in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which will be announced this evening.
Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre resigns from Union Cabinet. Ratan Lal Kataria has also resigned.
Delhi | Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, Sarbananda Sonowal, GK Reddy, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Parshottam Rupala and Anupriya Patel leave from 7, Lok Kalyan Marg#CabinetReshuffle
- NDTV (@ndtv) July 7, 2021
(ANI) pic.twitter.com/7bNItvfOUX
- 12 SC Ministers, 2 in Cabinet
- 8 ST Ministers, 3 in Cabinet
- 27 OBC Ministers, 5 in Cabinet
- 5 Minority Ministers, 3 in Cabinet
- 11 Women Ministers, 2 in Cabinet
- 14 Ministers below 50, 6 in Cabinet
- Average Age of Council: 58 years
- Experience in new Council: 4 former chief ministers, 18 former ministers in state governments, 39 former MLAs
- Professionals in Council: 13 Lawyers, 6 Doctors, 5 Engineers, 7 Civil servants
- Qualifications: 7 Ministers have PhDs, 3 are MBAs, 68 Graduates
- Ministers from 25 States/UTs
Who's In
Jyotiraditya Scindia
Narayan Rane
Sarbananda Sonowal
Anupriya Patel
Kapil Patil
Meenakshi Lekhi
Ajay Bhatt
Bhupender Yadav
Sunita Duggal
Pashupati Paras
Bharati Pawar
Ashwini Vaishnaw
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
Santosh Gangwar
Sanjay Dhotre
Rao Saheb Dhanve Patil
Who's Promoted
Anurag Thakur
Parshottam Rupala
G Kishan Reddy
Kiren Rijiju
Hardeep Singh Puri
Manush Mandavya
Ministers of State Anurag Thakur, Purshottam Rupala and GK Reddy, who also met with PM Modi, are likely to be promoted.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane, Bhupendra Yadav and Meenakshi Lekhi are set to join the government. They were among 17 people who visited PM Modi's residence ahead of the revamp.
Two ministers, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Santosh Gangwar, have resigned from the Union Cabinet, sources said hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega reshuffle.
• Sources: Kiren Rijiju likely to be promoted
• Sources: Hardeep Singh Puri likely to be promoted
• 25 OBC ministers, 5 with cabinet rank
• 5 minority ministers, 3 with cabinet rank
• 14 ministers below 50, 6 with cabinet rank
The reboot will also focus on regions within states, with an eye on polls in five states next year and the 2024 national election. The shake-up is also expected to bring in a greater share of ministries for OBCs (Other Backward Class).
43 ministers, new and old, will take oath today.
The Union Cabinet, which can have 81 members, currently has 52 ministers. This means 29 ministers can be added.
- Jyotiraditya ScindiaSarbananda Sonowal
- Bhupender Yadav
- Anurag Thakur
- Meenakshi Lekhi
- Anupriya Patel
- Ajay Bhatt
- Shobha Karandjale
- Sunita Dugga
- Bharati Pawar
- Santanu Thakur
- Narayan Rane
- Kapil Patil
- Pashupati Paras
- RCP Singh
- G Krishan Reddy
- Parshottam Rupala
Delhi: Former Assam CM & BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal leaves from his residence pic.twitter.com/xJkCjJp126
- ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2021
BREAKING | Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda reach PM's residence
Government sources also say the revamped cabinet will include "PhDs, MBAs, post-graduates and professionals", to bring up the average education level.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle, the arrival of ministers in waiting at his residence fueled a guessing game.
Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle, Bihar ally Nitish Kumar's party raised an old demand.
There will be more women ministers and special representation will be given to those who have administrative experience, say the sources.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and Union Cabinet meetings scheduled to be held on Wednesday have been cancelled.
The naming of Pashupati Kumar Paras in a list of those who may be made Union ministers today sparked sarcastic comments from LJP chief Chirag Paswan. Mr Paras was expelled from LJP after he, along with others, rebelled against Mr Paswan last month.
JUST IN | Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and Cabinet meetings that were scheduled today have been cancelled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega cabinet reshuffle will be announced today at 6 pm. All eyes are on leaders arriving in Delhi ahead of the oath ceremony.
Read the full list here.