Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
When the list of the Cabinet ministers was declared on Thursday, we had told you that Modi himself is the message. Now that all the ministers have been allocated portfolios, we can say that Modi isn’t just the message but also the surprise factor. Amit Shah was awarded Home Ministry contrary to the widespread belief that he will handle Finance Ministry.
Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister was also surprising. Rajnath Singh has been given charge of Defence Ministry. Former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was awarded Ministry of External Affairs. Nitin Gadkari has been given charge of Road Transport as well as MSME ministry. This can be seen as an effort to increase BJP’s vote base.
Apart from this, a 100-day agenda was also adopted in the first Cabinet meeting. The structure of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has also been made clear and it will involve PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah as well as S Jaishankar. Meanwhile, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will include Sitharaman. Hence, a compact team will be working on implementation of PM Modi’s agenda.
Challenges in Front of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
The ministry of Nirmala Sitharaman faces the biggest challenge – the Indian economy. GDP growth is closer to 6-6.5% mark. Agriculture sector also isn’t performing well.
Consumption demand has reduced. Hence, it becomes necessary to reduce the tax slabs. Apart from this, there is lack of cash liquidity in the market. Bringing in foreign investment is going to be an even bigger challenge.
Home Minister Amit Shah’s Agenda
Amit Shah handled the portfolio of home minister of Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state. As of now, he faces issues like national security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, Citizenship Amendment Bill, special arrangements for border states etc. Major changes can be seen in future in connection with Kashmir, and internal security also remains a major challenge.
Challenges for S Jaishankar
An expert in foreign policy, Jaishankar has delivered on major projects during his previous stint as foreign secretary. To take the ‘Modi diplomacy’ forward, his agenda is very clear.
Amid the ongoing trade war between US and China, it will be tough task to search for a right opportunity for India. Bagging a permanent membership for India in United Nations Security Council, ensuring international isolation of Pakistan on global scale to project India as a leader in South Asia are some of the few important issues on S Jaishankar’s plate.
Responsibilities of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
A lot of work needs to be done in the Defence Ministry. Due to the Rafale controversy, the decision-making process in the ministry came to a halt. If Rajnath Singh works in coordination with PM Modi, then the process can once again gain speed.
Big Surprises
Induction of Ramesh Pokhriyal as Human Resource and Development (HRD) minister was a big surprise. His first statement on assuming charge as the minister was that his ministry will work towards PM Modi’s agenda of strong, educated, empowered and clean India.
Narendra Tomar is a senior leader who hails from Madhya Pradesh. He was given charge of Ministry of Agriculture Affairs. His challenges include doubling the income of farmers, removing middlemen, transition of the country from an agriculture-based economy to other job opportunities.
Prakash Javadekar has been given charge of Information and Broadcast ministry. He had briefly handled this ministry in first term of Modi government. He is son of a journalist and has also held the post spokesperson of the party. It becomes interesting whether he will work to strengthen and protect the press freedom.
Good Performers Rewarded
Those who performed well in Modi Cabinet 1.0, have maintained their portfolios. Dharmendra Pradhan has retained the Petroleum ministry and Piyush Goyal has retained Railways ministry. Apart from this, Harsh Vardhan has retained the Health ministry.
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