National Desk, 10th June: The Modi 3.0 era has begun in India with the announcement of the new union cabinet ministers under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. The Centre has finalized the list, clarifying the distribution of portfolios.
Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who previously managed the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, will continue in this role. In a notable addition, Assam Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita has been appointed as Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Textiles.
Prime Minister Modi retains the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy, the Department of Space, and other key policy areas. This is in line with customary practices, where the Prime Minister holds significant portfolios not allocated to other ministers.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) remains unchanged, with Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar continuing as ministers of Defence, Home, Finance, and External Affairs, respectively.
The President’s Secretariat announced these portfolio allocations following the council of ministers’ swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. These decisions were made based on Prime Minister Modi’s advice.
Amit Shah also continues as the Minister of Cooperation, while Nirmala Sitharaman retains the Corporate Affairs portfolio alongside Finance. Prime Minister Modi maintains oversight of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy, and the Department of Space.
Key ministers have retained their positions: Nitin Gadkari remains the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Bhupendra Yadav stays on as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Virendra Kumar continues as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Ashwini Vaishnaw continues to lead the Ministry of Railways and Electronics and Information Technology, with added responsibility for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Piyush Goyal keeps his role as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dharmendra Pradhan remains the Union Minister for Education, and Hardeep Singh Puri continues as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. BJP chief JP Nadda has been appointed Health Minister, also handling the Chemicals and Fertilizers portfolio.
In a significant change, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu from the Telugu Desam Party is the new Civil Aviation Minister, succeeding BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.
These portfolio assignments were revealed a day after the NDA government’s swearing-in ceremony, following their third consecutive win in the Lok Sabha elections.