<span style="color: #222222;">National Democratic Alliance leader Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second consecutive term yesterday. <br />''<br />''President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of Office and Secrecy to him and a team of 57 ministers at a glittering ceremony on the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhawan just before sunset. <br />''<br />''Besides 24 Cabinet ministers including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal, nine were sworn in as Minister of State with Independent charge and another 24 as Minister of State.<br />''<br />''One-third of the total ministers in the Cabinet are first-timers,  including BJP president Amit Shah and former Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Two former Chief Ministers – Ramesh Pokhriyal from Uttarakhand and Arjun Munda from Jharkhand – have taken oath as Union ministers for the first time. <br />''<br />''This will be the first innings for six Cabinet ministers and 13 Ministers of State. BJP's Prahlad Joshi and Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant will also become Union ministers for the first time. <br />''<br />''The new Modi  Government has the maximum representation of 10 faces from Uttar Pradesh, followed by seven from Maharashtra,  six from Bihar and four from Madhya Pradesh. <br />''<br />''It also has three ministers each from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka followed by two each from West Bengal and Odisha. Portfolios for the new ministers have not been announced yet.<br />''<br />''The function was attended by leaders from BIMSTEC countries and foreign envoys, Governors, Chief Ministers, Opposition leaders, corporate heads and film stars.<br />''<br />'' President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, President of Myanmar, U Win Myint, President of Bangladesh, Md. Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dr Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli, Special Envoy of Thailand, Grisada Boonrach, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth witnessed the event. <br />''<br />''Key leaders of the Opposition who were present at the event were Congress President Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav.<br />''<br />''<br />''Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described his new council of ministers as a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience.<br />''<br />''After President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the council of ministers, the Prime Minister said in a tweet that it has people who have excelled as parliamentarians and those who have had distinguished professional careers.<br />''<br />''The Prime Minister further said that they would work together for India's progress.<br />''<br />''In Sri Lanka, the taking over of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his second consecutive term has been greeted across the political and social spectrum.<br />''<br />''Minister Mano Ganeshan greeted Mr. Modi on behalf of all Sri Lankan and Tamils of Indian origin saying they are happy to join the proud moment. Sri Lankan media has projected Mr. Modi's leadership as positive development for the region saying it will help embattle the menace of terrorism in the region.<br />''<br />''Prime Minister is scheduled to make a short trip to Sri Lanka next week to express solidarity with the victims of Easter Sunday attacks and to reinforce his 'Neighbourhood first' policy.</span>