A total 22 ministers have been inducted into the Union Council of Ministers. They include seven Cabinet ministers, two Ministers of State with independent charge and 13 Ministers of State. Of the total, 16 are new faces. President Pranab Mukherjee administed the oath of office and secrecy at a function in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrpati Bhavan.
Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari, UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, several Cabinet Ministers, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj were among several dignitaries present in the swearing-in ceremony.
The Cabinet rank ministers who have been sworn-in are K Rehman Khan, former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Dinsha Patel, Ajay Maken, M M Pallam Raju, Ashwani Kumar, Harish Rawat, and Chandresh Kumari Katoch. Mr Rehman Khan and Chandresh Kumari Katoch are the new faces while for others it is an upgradation.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari and K.Chiranjeevi have been inducted as Ministers of State with independence charge. Sashi Tharoor, Kodikunnil Suresh, Tariq Anwar of NCP, K Jayasurya Prakash Reddy, Mrs Rani Nara, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, A H Khan Choudhary, S. Satyanarayana, Nionong Ering, Mrs Deepa Das Munshi, Porika Balaram Naik, Mrs Krupa Rani Killi and Lalchand Kataria, have taken oath as Ministers of State. AIR Correspondent reports that as many as five new faces from Andhra Pradesh figure in the reshuffle.
PORTFOLIOS
Salman Khurshid gets External Affairs ministry , Ashwani Kumar Law and Justice, M M Pallam Raju Human Resource Development and Veerappa Moily Petroleum and Natural Gas in the reallocation of portfolios in the Cabinet reshuffle announced today. K Rehman Khan becomes Cabinet minister for Minority Affairs while Ajay Maken is Housing and Urban Poverty alleviation minister.
Harish Rawat, who was the Minister of State for Agriculture has been elevated to the Cabinet rank as the Minister for Water Resources. Dinsha Patel has been upgraded from the Minister of State rank to the Cabinet in the Ministry of Mines while Chandresh Kumari Katoch, a new face in the Council of Minister has been made the Minister of Culture in the Cabinet.
Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development has been given Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, S Jaipal Reddy is the new Science and Technology minister. Kapil Sibal continues to be Communication and IT minister. Pawan Kumar Bansal has been given Railway Ministry.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari is the new Minister of State with independent charge for Information and Broadcasting ministry. Jyotiraditya Scindia has been made MoS with Independent of Power ministry. Sachin Pilot is the new MoS, Corporate Affairs. Mrs D Purandeswari is the MoS for Commerce and Industry. R P N Singh is the MoS in the Home Ministry.
Dr K Chiranjeevi, another new face, is the new Minister of State with independent charge in the ministry of Tourism. Dr Sashi Tharoor has been given the charge of Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Tariq Anwar, MoS Agriculture and Food Processing Industry, K J Suryaprakash Reddy, MoS Railways, Mrs Rani Narah, MoS, Tribal Affairs, Mrs Deepa Das Munshi, MoS, Urban Development.
