Page 5 - Union Cabinet

Chirag Paswan, JP Nadda: Full list of union ministers in Narendra Modi govt

In total, 72 ministers were sworn into office, including 30 cabinet ministers, 36 Ministers of State (MoS), and five MoS with independent charge

Oath-taking ceremony: UP, Bihar, Maharashtra bag most ministerial berths

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar appear to have got the maximum representation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new council of ministers, while assembly poll-bound Maharashtra also found a significant presence. Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most members, 80, to the Lok Sabha, has got nine ministerial berths, which includes one Cabinet, while Bihar has bagged four cabinet berths out of a total of eight ministers from the state. Maharashtra has six ministerial berths, including two Cabinet ministers, while Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have five members each in the council of ministers that was sworn in on Sunday. Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have three ministerial berths each. Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Telangana, Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala have two ministerial berths in the council of ministers. Rajnath Singh is the sole cabinet minister from Uttar Pradesh, while Gujarat's four cabinet ministers include Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya and C R ...

Meet Nirmala Sitharaman, feisty defender of Modi govt to filling big shoes

Nirmala Sitharaman, who joined the likes of Arun Jaitley and Manmohan Singh by serving a full term as Finance Minister and is credited with carrying forward second-generation reforms, created a record by being the first woman to be sworn in as minister for the third consecutive term of the Modi government. Being a fiery spokesperson of the BJP, she was inducted into the Cabinet when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the NDA government in 2014. As a staunch defender of the Modi government's economic policies and executor, she created a record when she was appointed as the first female Raksha Mantri, or Defence Minister, in 2017. Prior to that, she was industry and commerce minister. When her mentor Arun Jaitley took ill, Sitharaman was given the charge of the finance portfolio in the newly re-elected Modi government after the 2019 general elections, when BJP won its highest seats of 303. She became the first full-time woman Finance Minister in Independent India. Earlier, ..

Pralhad Joshi, RSS loyalist, five-time MP, returns as Union minister

A die-hard RSS loyalist and long-time BJP worker, Pralhad Joshi is a fifth time member of Parliament from the saffron party's bastion of Dharwad in Karnataka. Said to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leader Amit Shah, he held portfolios of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs in the previous Cabinet. As Parliamentary Affairs Minister, he played a key role in the functioning of both the Houses and in the passing of many crucial bills of national importance, during the 17th Lok Sabha. He spearheaded a series of initiatives and policy interventions which led to "unlocking the true potential" of the Coal & Mining sector towards self-reliance, a senior BJP leader said. Joshi, who had also served as BJP Karnataka president, came to the limelight as 'Rastradwaja Horata Samiti Sanchalak', when the party organised a movement to hoist the tricolour at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi that had created a huge law and order situation, and also "Save Kashmir Movement" in early ...

Piyush Goyal returns as Union minister in new avatar as 1st time LS member

Piyush Goyal, who handled key ministries, including Commerce and Industry, in the second Modi government, won his debut Lok Sabha poll from the Mumbai North constituency with an impressive vote margin. Goyal, 59, who has been a Rajya Sabha member since 2010, eloquently articulated the government's position on different occasions during debates on various issues in the Upper House of Parliament. Before the polls, Goyal hit out at the opposition leaders for labelling him an outsider, and said he was born in Mumbai, studied in the H R College and Government Law College, started his Chartered Accountancy practice in Lalbaug and worked as an investment banker on Nepean Sea Road. "There can be nobody more Mumbaikar than me," Goyal, who hails from an illustrious political family, told PTI last month. On Sunday, he again became the Union cabinet minister, this time as a Lok Sabha member. In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, Goyal won against Congress candidate Bhushan Patil from the

Being twice CM to Union minister, Kumaraswamy demonstrates political acumen

Two-time chief minister and five-time MLA JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has once again demonstrated his political acumen by bagging a seat in the union council of ministers, despite his party joining the BJP-led NDA just last year. Since the time of its founding in 1999, the JD(S) has never formed a government on its own in Karnataka, but has been in power twice in coalition with both national parties despite being a junior partner -- for 20 months with the BJP from February 2006 and for 14 months with the Congress after the May 2018 assembly polls. Kumaraswamy was chief minister on both occasions. The son of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has now managed to secure a cabinet berth by allying with the BJP, at a time when his party was fighting the "battle for survival". The 64-year-old Vokkaliga leader has made no secret of his desire to become agriculture minister. By winning the Mandya Lok Sabha seat, the former CM has not only managed to regain the JD(S)'

JP Nadda returns to Union cabinet after stint as BJP national president

After leading the BJP as its national president for more than four years, JP Nadda returned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers on Sunday. The 63-year old took oath as a Cabinet minister, becoming the sole representative from Himachal Pradesh in the BJP-led government. It is not yet known which ministry will be assigned to him. He served as Union health minister in Modi's first term from November 9, 2014, to May 30, 2019. Nadda, who holds a degree in law, started his political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He became president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP's youth wing, in 1991. He held various key positions in the BJP, headed its election campaign in a host of states -- from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab. He also served as a minister in BJP's governments in his home state of Himachal Pradesh. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha

Four-time MP CM, Shivraj Singh Chouhan enters Union cabinet for 1st time

Proving wrong his detractors' claim of being sidelined after denial of CM's post for fifth time last year, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan won Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha Lok Sabha seat for the sixth time by a record margin of 8.21 lakh votes. The former four-time MP chief minister, popularly known as "mama" (maternal uncle) and "paon-paon wale bhaiya" (foot soldier), assiduously worked on his 'soil of the soil' image and identified himself with the socio-economic concerns of farmers, villagers, women and children in the state. During his more than 18-year-tenure as the CM, barring 15 months of Congress rule (in 2018), Chouhan transformed himself from being a shy, simple and vulnerable politician to a wily leader with a mass appeal and unparallel hard work. Having the image of a soft-spoken man coupled with simplicity, the 65-year-old leader led the BJP's campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state, presenting himself as one among the people, promising further development and n

Ajit Pawar's NCP faction excluded from Cabinet in Modi government 3.0

Ajit Pawar's NCP was offered one MoS Independent Charge post by the BJP government, which party leader Praful Patel called a 'demotion'

'Win, defeat part of politics': Modi tells outgoing cabinet in final meet

Narendra Modi chaired the final meeting of the outgoing union cabinet on Wednesday, a day after Lok Sabha election 2024 results were announced

How are Modi's ministers doing in the 2024 Lok Sabha election results?

Amit Shah, Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, Rajeev Chandrasekhar are among the ministers contesting these Lok Sabha 2024 elections. This is what trends indicate for their seats

'Govt pushing ACC battery storage scheme, budget hiked 6x in few years'

The budget for the advanced chemistry cell sector has gone up 6x in the last few years, reflecting the government's continuous focus to boost the country's energy storage ecosystem, a senior official said. The National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery storage was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 12, 2021 with budgetary outlay of Rs 18,100 crore. The scheme is aimed at strengthening the ecosystem for electric mobility and battery storage in the country. The scheme envisages to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities of ACCs by setting up of giga scale ACC and battery manufacturing facilities in India with emphasis on maximum domestic value addition. Addressing at the India Energy Storage Week 2024 (IESW 2024) curtain raiser even, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries Vijay Mittal said, "Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Government of India have provided a 6x growth in the budget." He said initially a budget of Rs 1,118 crore was provided. With .

BS Manthan: Finding common ground in ideologically divided farm sector

India's farm sector needs a thorough relook as the country marches towards the cherished goal of a developed nation by 2047, which the panel discussions promise to deliver

Pashupati Paras resigns from Union cabinet, accuses BJP of injustice

Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras resigned on Tuesday and accused the BJP of doing "injustice" with his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party by not including it in the seat-sharing deal with allies for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. Paras's announcement came at a press conference a day after the BJP-led NDA announced its seat-sharing pact and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas). Paras made brief remarks at the press conference about his resignation and did not elaborate about his future plans. The only ally in the Union Cabinet headed by Modi, he called the prime minister a big leader. The RLJP president said he was thankful to Modi before expressing his displeasure over the treatment meted out to him. He said he had served the National Democratic Alliance with honesty and loyalty but received injustice.

Cabinet approves inter-governmental agreement between India-UAE on IMEC

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an inter-governmental framework agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates on cooperation for the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor. The aim of the inter-governmental framework agreement (IGFA) is to enhance the bilateral ties and further strengthen the relations between the two countries in ports, maritime and logistics sectors, an official statement said. IGFA includes areas of cooperation with the objective of exploring the further potential of future joint investment and collaboration with respect to the development of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The agreement contains a detailed framework for cooperation between the two countries. The cooperation will be based on a set of mutually agreed-upon principles, guidelines and agreements, consistent with the relevant rules and regulations of the countries' jurisdiction.

Govt approves India-Bhutan pact on energy efficiency, conservation

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave ex post facto approval to an initial pact between India and Bhutan on cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and conservation measures. The MoU was signed between the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of India, and the Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Government of Bhutan, an official statement said. According to the statement, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bhutan on extending cooperation in the field of Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation Measures. As part of the MoU, India aims to assist Bhutan to enhance energy efficiency in the household sector by promoting star labelling programme developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the statement said. India aims to support Bhutan in its endeavour to develop and implement the standards and labelling scheme, it ...

Delhi metro: Govt approves Inderlok-Indraprastha, Lajpat Nagar-Saket links

At an estimated cost of Rs 8,399 crore, these two new metro lines will add a network covering more than 20km for commuters and is anticipated to be complete by March 2026

Cabinet approves Rs 75,021 crore rooftop solar scheme for 10 mn households

The Cabinet approved the PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana on Thursday, aiming to install rooftop solar panels in one crore households at a total cost of Rs. 75,021 crore

Cabinet approves royalty rates for mining of 12 critical minerals

This completes the exercise of the rationalisation of royalty rates for all 24 critical and strategic minerals

U'khand CM Dhami lauds approval of PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity scheme

The major highlights of the scheme include Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for Residential Rooftop Solar