‘Will try to meet expectations’: Newly-appointed ministers in Modi govt take charge

KEY STORY

• The newly-appointed ministers in the Narendra Modi government took charge of their respective departments on Thursday ahead of the Cabinet meeting this evening.

• The new ministers will also meet BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda today at the party headquarters.

• As many as 43 ministers were sworn in – 15 Cabinet and 28 Ministers of State – in the first reshuffle on Wednesday in the Council of Ministers by PM Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.

• In major changes, Mansukh Mandaviya has been made the Health Minister, Kiren Rijiju replaces Ravi Shankar Prasad as Law Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has been given charge of the Education Ministry, and Jyotiratidya Scindia is the new Civil Aviation Minister.

  Highlights:

• – Anurag Thakur today took charge as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. “PM Modi has done terrific work in the last 7 yrs to take India forward. The work done by people before me in I&B Ministry and responsibility given to me by the PM, I will try to meet those expectations,” he said.

• –Hardeep Singh Puri took charge as the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Former minister Dharmendra Pradhan also greeted him on the occasion.  MoS Rameswar Teli was also present.

“Our focus will be on increasing domestic production of crude oil and natural gas. In line with PM’s vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we’ll work towards the development of a natural gas-based economy in the country,” he said.

– Mansukh Mandaviya took charge as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given me the responsibility of the Health Ministry. I will work in accordance with PM Modi’s expectations,” he said.

– Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge as the new Minister of Railways. “Railway is a major part of PM Modi’s vision. His vision for railways is to transform the lives of the people, that everyone – common man, farmers, the poor – gets the benefit of the railway. I will work for that vision,” Vaishnaw said.

– Kiren Rijiju took charge as Minister of Law and Justice. “I am shifting to Law and Justice but the efforts will continue. Time at the sports department was memorable. The team was good. PM’s vision of making India a sporting vision will be fulfilled,” he said.

– Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge as Civil Aviation Minister today. “I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our party chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. I will carry out the responsibility given by them with hard work and determination, the effort will be to meet their expectations,” he said.

 Two-time MP from New Delhi parliamentary constituency, Meenakshi Lekhi took charge as new Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Culture. “On behalf of all friends, I express my gratitude to the PM, HM, party chief and the entire team that they prioritised meritocracy and hard work and gave positions to everyone. India has been brought not only on the maps but also in the ministries,” she said.

– Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar took charge as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

– Rajeev Chandrasekhar took charge as the MoS in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. “Digital India and Skill India are two tremendously important pillars that will shape the future of our country, shape the future prospects of the youth of our country. I am pleased, honoured & privileged to be working with the team,” he said.

– Shobha Karandlaje took charge as MoS in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. “I have been given the responsibility to work for farmers. I am a farmer’s daughter, so I know their pain. I will work for the welfare of farmers and see to it that they get benefitted from the government,” he said.

– Jitendra Singh took charge as MoS (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. “I thank PM for entrusting me with the responsibility of this important dept. I was in this dept 17 years ago briefly. Under the leadership of PM Modi and his great personal interest in scientific development, we have been able to accomplish a lot of world-class mechanisms,” he said.

– Dharmendra Pradhan took charge as the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar was also present Former minister Mahendra Nath Pandey greeted them on the occasion.

– Ajay Bhatt took charge as the MoS in the Ministry of Defence. “All priorities are fixed. A lot of tourists come into our country. After studying it thoroughly, we can find what more can we do. We are doing much in this field. This field is constantly growing,” said Bhatt.

– Bhupender Yadav assumes charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

– Dr Virendra Kumar takes charge as Social Justice and Empowerment minister.

– Parshottam Rupala took charge as Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

– Subhas Sarkar took charge as Minister of State for Education.

– Dr Munjapara Mahendrabhai takes charge as Minister of State for Women and Child Development