Newly-inducted ministers vow to work as per Modi’s vision
Modi govt gets a makeover, the new Council of Ministers is being shaped in terms of experience and qualifications. Reshuffle also bears the imprint of techno-managerial het to boost administration
The new cabinet ministers, who took charge on Thursday ater the biggest reshuffle in Narendra Modi’s Union council of ministers a day earlier, promised to work as per the Prime Minister’s vision for the country.
Anurag Thakur said Modi has done terrific work in the last seven years to take India forward. He said he will try to meet the expectations as he took over as the new information and broadcasting minister.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the new civil aviation minister, thanked the PM, Union home minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Nadda as he took charge of his ministry. He promised to carry out all the responsibilities with hard work and determinism.
Hardeep Singh Puri, who has been named as the new petroleum and natural gas minister, said the focus would be to increase the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas. He said they would work towards the development of a natural gas-based economy.
Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya thanked Modi and added he will work in accordance with the Prime Minister’s expectations.
Kiren Rijiju, the new law minister, said his time as the sports minister was memorable, and Modi’s vision of making India a sporting nation will be fulfilled.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, who took over as the new railway minister, said the ministry is a major part of Modi’s vision.
“His vision for railways is to transform the lives of the people... that everyone... the common man, farmers, the poor... gets the benefit of the railways. I will work for that vision.”
G Kishan Reddy said under Modi’s guidance, he has taken charge as the minister of state for tourism, culture, and northeast affairs.
Bharati Pravin, who took over as the minister of state for health, expressed her confidence in Modi’s vision for a healthy India.
In addition, this reshuffle also bears the imprint of techno-managerial het to boost administration.
As the Modi government gets a makeover, the new Council of Ministers is being shaped in terms of experience and qualifications.
Modi had during interactions sought transformative ideas from the bureaucracy but since not much was achieved from that avenue, there seems to be an initiative to incubate ideas through technocracy.
In the new Council of Ministers, there are four former Chief Ministers in the cabinet, 18 former state ministers, 39 former MLAS and 23 MPS who have been elected for three or more terms.
This demonstrates the wealth of experience in the new cabinet as the government has been criticised for lack of bench strength and not enough het in administrative experience.
The new ministers will also be an eclectic mix of distinguished qualifications including 13 lawyers, 6 doctors, 5 engineers, 7 former civil servants, 46 ministers with experience in central government.
This is also a young looking cabinet with average age of the cabinet at 58 and 14 ministers will now be below 50.
Ater the major cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, speculations are once again doing the rounds of a much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in Utara Pradesh.
According to highly placed sources, the removal of senior ministers at the centre on grounds of non-performance, has made it easier for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take similar action in Utar Pradesh. The chief minister, for some months now, has been wanting to divest some senior ministers of their porfolios.
However, apparently under pressure from the party high command, he was not allowed to do so.
“There are many considerations in keeping a leader in the ministry. There are caste and regional factors that have to be taken into consideration,” admited a BJP functionary.
However, the manner in which Modi has shown the door to veterans like Ravi Shanker Prasad, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, Prakash Javdekar and Harshvardhan, it will now make it easier for Yogi Adityanath to crack the whip.
Moreover, since the majority of the seven new ministers inducted in the union cabinet are from OBC and Dalit castes, the chief minister can easily replace some ministers form these caste groups in the state.
According to sources close to him, the chief minister would prefer to induct some new faces who have a jest for performance and can further improve the image of the government.