New Delhi:
BJP president Amit Shah has been appointed as the new Union Home Minister, replacing Rajnath Singh, who will now handle the Ministry of Defence, Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Friday. Former foreign secretary S Jaishankar, who surprised many by his induction in the new Cabinet, has been made the new External Affairs Minister. Jaishankar replaced Sushma Swaraj, who opted out from contesting elections citing poor health.
Nirmala Sitharaman, who was the Defence Minister in the incumbent government, has been given the charge of Finance Ministry after Arun Jaitley, who is batteling kidney-related ailments, choose not to be part of the government.
LJP president and one of the key NDA members, Ram Vilas Paswan, has retained the Consumer Affairs Ministry while Agriculture went to Narendra Singh Tomar who also got the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Piyush Goyal has also retained the Railways. Goyal will also take charge of Commerce and Industries.
Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, has been given the charge of Women and Child Development ministry. Irani replaced Maneka Gandhi, who was the Women and Child Development minister in the the previous Modi govenrment. She also retained her Textile ministry.
One of the most performing ministers in the previous Modi government, Nitin Gadkari has not just retained his ministry - Road, Transport and Shipment - but also got the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Earlier, Giriraj Singh was the MSMEs minister. Singh has now been given the charge of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries ministry.
Below is the full list of ministers and their potfolio:
