In his historic third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet will retain the prominent faces in the key ministries. Amit Shah will continue as the Home Minister, Rajnath Singh will retain the Defence portfolio, S Jaishankar will stay on as the Foreign Minister, and Nirmala Sitharaman will remain in charge of Finance.
Prime Minister Modi himself will handle the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Department of Atomic Energy, and the Department of Space.
Several ministers have been retained in their previous roles to ensure continuity. Nitin Gadkari will continue as the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, with juniors Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra assisting him. Gadkari has been credited with constructing more than 54,858 km of national highways over the past decade. Piyush Goyal will also retain the Commerce portfolio.
JP Nadda, the health minister in PM Modi’s first cabinet, returns with the same portfolio and additional charge of the Chemicals and Fertilisers department. Ashwini Vaishnaw will handle the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and Railways portfolios.
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The Civil Aviation Ministry has transitioned from Jyotiraditya Scindia to TDP’s Ram Mohan Naidu, the youngest minister in the cabinet, while Scindia takes over the Telecom ministry.
Former Chief Ministers from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have been given significant responsibilities at the Centre. Manohar Lal Khattar will oversee the Power and Housing and Urban Affairs ministries, assisted by junior ministers Shripad Naik and Tokhan Sahu. Shivraj Singh Chouhan will handle Agriculture, Farmers Welfare, and Rural Development ministries.
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Kiren Rijiju has been appointed to the Parliamentary Affairs ministry, previously managed by Pralhad Joshi, who now takes charge of the Food, Consumer Affairs, and Renewable Energy department. CR Paatil will manage the Jal Shakti ministry, Bhupendra Yadav the Environment portfolio, Giriraj Singh the Textiles ministry, and Annapurna Devi will oversee Women & Child Development. Mansukh Mandavia has been assigned Labour and Employment, as well as Sports and Youth Affairs.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, will serve as junior minister for food processing and railways. Despite losing the Ludhiana election, he must secure a seat in either house of parliament within six months.
Among the allies, former Bihar Chief Minister and HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi will handle Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, with Shobha Karandlaje as Minister of State. JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy will manage the Heavy Industries and Steel portfolios, while LJP chief Chirag Paswan will oversee the Food Processing department.
Ministers of State with Independent Charge include Dr. Jitendra Singh, who will manage multiple portfolios: Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, and the Prime Minister’s Office. Arjun Ram Meghwal will have Independent charge of Law and Justice and will serve as the junior minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
With this new cabinet, PM Modi aims to ensure a mix of continuity and fresh energy, addressing both long-standing and emerging challenges as India progresses into his third term.
