Ministers in Modi Cabinet 2.0 get charge of multiple departments

Several of the ministers in the new Modi Cabinet have been given multiple portfolios to handle
Union Minister for Agriculture Narender Singh Tomer speaks as I B Minister Prakash Javdekar and Minister of State I/C North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh look on at the press after the first Cabinet meeting at Shastri Bhawan New Delhi Friday May 31 2019.
Union Minister for Agriculture Narender Singh Tomer speaks as I B Minister Prakash Javdekar and Minister of State I/C North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh look on at the press after the first Cabinet meeting at Shastri Bhawan New Delhi Friday May 31 2019.

NEW DELHI: Unlike the first tenure, many ministers in the new Modi government have been given multiple portfolios. These include names like Narendra Singh Tomar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Puri, among others.

Tomar, who holds the cabinet rank, has been given Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. In the first tenure, he was only handling Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

Agriculture is considered a significant portfolio given the fact that it concerns nearly 50 per cent of the country’s population. Radha Mohan Singh, who has been dropped this time, was the agriculture minister during Modi’s first stint.

Cabinet minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will handle Law and Justice, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology.

Smriti Irani who earlier held Textile, now also holds the charge of Women and Child Development Ministry, considered an important ministry. Maneka Gandhi, who was dropped from the government this time, held the portfolio earlier.

Dharmendra Pradhan has been given Ministry of Steel in addition to Petroleum that he handled in his first term.

Hardeep Singh Puri has been given two additional charges, including the independent charge of civil aviation and that of commerce and industry, apart from handling the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which he held during his first stint, too.

R K Singh was earlier handling power and renewable energy. This time he has been given additional charge of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Shashi Tharoor feels ‘sorry for double-hatters’

The Congress MP tweeted: “While many ministers are suited to their portfolios, the double-hatting piles unreasonable burdens on some MoS. I feel sorry, eg, for @HardeepSPuri, who has to juggle being fully in charge of 2 ministries, Urban Affairs & Civil Aviation, while assisting in Commerce!”

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com