In Cabinet reshuffle, Nirmala Sitharaman gets defence, Suresh Prabhu given commerce: List of new portfolios

The nine new members to be inducted in the Union council of ministers include four former senior bureaucrats and also BJP leaders from the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh which go to polls in the near future. The new faces come from diverse backgrounds and have rich administrative experiences. Some of them have professional degrees or PhDs. The swearing-in ceremony was held at 10.30 am at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a slight change from 10 am that was originally planned. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with BJP chief Amit Shah late in the evening to give apply touches to the exercise. The BJP-led government promoted four ministers, largely seen as performers, to the Cabinet, which also got a Muslim face with the induction of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The elevation of Dharmendra Pradhan and Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha and Karnataka, are also reflective of BJP’s political calculation in these poll-bound states. Here is a table on the recent shuffle up in the Cabinet portfolios.