Something new, something old, something borrowed
Modi’s new cabinet is a mix of political allies, veterans, and bright new faces
The Narendra Modi 2.0 cabinet ministers list is out and it almost looks like a rejig in the top 4 ministries while most of the other ministries stay unchanged. Here’s who got what ministry and what awaits them.
Ministry of Finance– Nirmala Sitharaman
The only other woman to hold the defense ministry after Indira Gandhi was Nirmala Sitharaman. After taking into account her past performance and her continued loyalty towards PM Modi, she has been promoted and assigned the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Considered to be a capable administrator, she will none the less have her task cut out as the economy faces multiple headwinds, both domestically and internationally. Key on her list of priorities will be to continue simplifying GST, and fast-tracking more reforms.
Ministry of External Affairs — S Jaishankar
Former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has been given the Ministry of External Affairs. Jaishankar was a surprise pick by the Modi cabinet but also seems to be the right-fit given his three decades of diplomatic experience.
He had been a key force in building up India’s relations with the US and China in the past five years and was instrumental in shaping the Indo-US nuclear deal. Engaging Pakistan, China, and the US constructively at a time when the world is increasingly isolationist will be his task.
Ministry of Defence — Rajnath Singh
The senior most politician with the BJP party, Rajnath Singh served as the Home Minister during the previous Modi government. The major challenges facing Rajnath as defense minister are the urgently needed purchase of new fighter aircraft for the airforce as well as pushing for technology transfer deals. Modi owes his return to power on the back of a strong defense policy(read Balakot strike), it will be interesting to see how Rajnath maintains the track record.
Ministry of Railways — Piyush Goyal
Piyush Goyal continues to hold the Ministry of Railways. During his previous tenure, he managed to bring down the number of accidents and in the upcoming tenure, he aims at zero accidents. The main challenge for Goyal will be to maintain the tracks, roll out state-of-the-art coaches as well as increase non-fare revenue.
Home Ministry — Amit Shah
BJP President, Amit Shah (considered as PM Narendra Modi’s close confidant) has been entrusted with the home ministry, a division last administered by Rajnath Singh. Amit Shah was expected to take home a major ministry after he successfully ran election campaigns and spearheaded the party to sweeping victory second time in a row.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highway & Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) — Nitin Gadkari
Nitin Gadkari has retained the road transport ministry and additionally been entrusted with MSME ministry. Accredited with pushing several developmental projects across the country, Gadkari now aims to build world-class expressways. However, he faces a tough task with MSMEs as the sector is already facing high credit costs. As part of the interim budget, the Modi government had already announced a lot of sops for start-ups and entrepreneurs. It would be interesting to see how these sops take shape.
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Ministry of Steel — Dharmendra Pradhan
Dharmendra Pradhan continues to oversee India’s crucial energy sector. In addition, he has been allocated the Ministry of Steel. Pradhan was credited for implementation of the Ujjwala scheme which expanded the LPG base over the past five years. However, with US sanctions against Iran and OPEC production curbs, it will be not an easy task for Pradhan to manage energy requirements, especially when more than 80% of oil is imported.
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