Modi signals continuity with Cabinet portfolios; new faces get plum posts, boost for allies

Amit Shah has retained the Home Ministry, Rajnath Singh Defence Ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman has continued with the Finance Ministry and S Jaishankar keeps the Foreign Ministry.

A day after PM Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues were sworn in after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) achieved a narrow majority in the recently-concluded parliamentary polls, the most awaited part of government formation is finally here. The BJP has kept the ‘Big 4’ ministries - Finance, External Affairs, Defence and Home with itself.

Check out the complete list of ministries of the Modi 3.0 Cabinet here.

Amit Shah has retained the Home Ministry, Rajnath Singh Defence Ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman has continued with the Finance Ministry and S Jaishankar keeps the Foreign Ministry.

Piyush Goyal has retained the Commerce portfolio. Nitin Gadkari will continue to head the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra serving as junior ministers.

Ashwini Vaishnaw will handle the prominent portfolios of Information & Broadcasting and Railways. The Civil Aviation Ministry has shifted from Jyotiraditya Scindia to TDP's Ram Mohan Naidu, the youngest minister in the cabinet. Meanwhile, Scindia has been assigned the Telecom ministry.

Kiren Rijiju will take charge of Parliamentary Affairs, a role previously held by Pralhad Joshi. Joshi has been reassigned to the Food, Consumer Affairs, and Renewable Energy departments.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, now brought to the Centre, will oversee the key Ministry of Agriculture.

Manohar Lal Khattar will manage two significant ministries: Power and Housing and Urban Affairs. For Power, he will be assisted by junior minister Shripad Naik, and for Housing and Urban Affairs, by Tokhan Sahu, a first-time minister from Chhattisgarh.

Giriraj Singh has been moved to Textiles, a department formerly managed by Smriti Irani. Annapurna Devi will oversee Women & Child Development, while Mansukh Mandavia has been appointed to head Labour and Employment.

Former Bihar Chief Minister and HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi will be responsible for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, with Shobha Karandlaje as the Minister of State.

CR Paatil will lead the Jal Shakti ministry, while Bhupendra Yadav will be in charge of Environment.

JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy will oversee the Heavy Industries and Steel portfolios.

In the new Cabinet, 30 will hold cabinet rank, including those from allies like TDP, JD(U), LJP, JDS, and HAM.