Forty-three new ministers took oath as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to revamp his administration that has been heavily criticised over the handling of the coronavirus crisis, soaring prices and resentment from several sections. The names in the cabinet reshuffle include several new entrants as well as existing ministers who will be reassigned.
In an unexpected move, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who held key portfolios of law and information technology, and Prakash Javadekar, the minister for environment, information and broadcasting and heavy industries, stepped down. Also among the top ministers who were asked resign was Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, paying the political price for the government's struggles to cope with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections. In all, at least 12 ministers have resigned including prominent ones like Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and junior Environment Minister Babul Supriyo.
The "big four" ministers for finance, foreign affairs, home and defence, however, are unlikely to be changed. Before announcing his first cabinet reshuffle since winning a second term in 2019, PM Modi consulted leaders of his BJP, a government official said. Government sources said the Prime Minister had been aiming to include younger members of his party to be ministers and also give greater representation to women and backward classes - a crucial consideration ahead of important state elections starting with Uttar Pradesh early next year.
Following are the list of 43 ministers who took oath on Wednesday. The list included several new entrants as well as existing ministers who will be reassigned:
Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Ramchandra Prasad Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pashupati Paras, Kiren Rijiju, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Bhupender Yadav, Parshottam Rupala, Kishan Reddy, Anurag Singh Thakur, Pankaj Choudhary, Anupriya Singh Patel, Dr. Satya Pal Singh Baghel, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Shobha Karandlaje, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Meenakshi Lekhi, Annapurna Devi, A. Narayanaswamy, Kaushal Kishore, Ajay Bhatt, B. L. Verma, Ajay Kumar, Chauhan Devusinh, Bhagwanth Khuba, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Pratima Bhoumik, Dr. Subhas Sarkar, Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Bishweswar Tudu, Shantanu Thakur, Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai, John Barla, Dr. L. Murugan, Nisith Pramanik.
