Modi 2.0 and his (wo)men

| Read time: 18 minute(s)

Now that all the brouhaha over campaigning and results is over, it’s time to take stock of the General Elections results. Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (BJP and allies) came back to power with thumping victory with 353 seats in the Parliament of 545. Bhartiya Janta Party alone has won 303 seats. The cabinet was sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind on May 30. Prime Minister Narendra Modi For the first time since 1971, an incumbent prime minister has won a second consecutive term of office with an absolute majority in the 2019 general elections. Along with being the head of the government, he will also handle the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space. Home Minister Amit Shah First time entrant in the government, Gandhinagar MP Amit Shah is considered close to PM Modi in a sense that they take most of the strategic decisions together. Shah has already started making news with his stand on national security and Kashmir. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Home minister in Modi’s earlier cabinet, Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh is holding the Defence portfolio now. Known for his no nonsense attitude, Rajnath is a soft spoken politician and the senior most leader in the Modi Cabinet. During his stint as home minister in the previous term, Rajnath Singh battled with Kashmir militancy, Pakistan incursions, Pulwama attack, the emergence of Islamic State in India among other challenges. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman A Rajya Sabha MP (Upper House), Nirmala Sitharaman is the present Finance Minister of India. She held Defence portfolio in earlier government, being the first woman minister to do so in the history of the country. With an increase in unemployment rate and dwindling economical conditions, Sitharaman has a touch battle ahead. Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar A 1977 batch IFS officer, S Jaishankar is a surprise pick by PM Narendra Modi. A diplomat, who retired as the foriegn secretary of India, Jaishankar was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. He is also credited with helping resolve the Doklam stand-off between India and China. But he has to fill huge shoes of former Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj whose term would be remembered for prompt action and humane politics. Minister of transport Nitin Gadkari Known as highway man, Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari has been sworn in as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Modi government. During his earlier stint, as the transport minister, Gadkari is credited with building excellent Road and Highway network with approximately 26 kms per day. Minister of Women and child development Smriti Irani This Amethi MP is back, and how. In the last government, Irani had become the youngest cabinet minister and held several portfolios, including HRD, Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Minister. In 2019, she has been re-inducted with the portfolios of Minister of Women and Child development and Textiles. Irani had lost 2004 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections to Rahul Gandhi but in 2019 she emerged as a giant-killer by defeating the Congress president in his own bastion. Minister of Health Harsh Vardhan Doctor-turned-politician New Delhi MP Dr Harsh Vardhan is the Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. He has retained his earlier portfolio. During his stint as Delhi minister, he had successfully launched the Pulse Polio Programme, which was later launched nationwide for immunisation of millions of children against polio. Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal Credited with announcing the first bullet train in India, the Rajya Sabha MP, Piyush Goyal is the Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry. A Mumbai boy, Goyal is an alumni of Don Bosco School and HR College. A chartered accountant by profession, Goyal is known for his networking and banking skills. Minister of Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad A first-time MP, Ravi Shankar Prasad defeated Congress’ Shatrughan Sinha (earlier with BJP) from Patna Sahib constituency. A noted Supreme Court advocate, Prasad holds the portfolios of Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology. During the previous Modi government, Prasad was Union Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Minister. He served as a minister is Atal Bihari Vajpayee government also. Here’s the complete list of the ministers in the Modi govt Cabinet Minister Post Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space Rajnath Singh Minister of Defence Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises DV Sadananda Gowda Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs Ramvilas Paswan Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Rural Development; Panchayati Raj Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister of Law and Justice; Communications; Electronics and Information Technology Harsimrat Kaur Badal Minister of Food Processing Industries Thaawar Chand Gehlot Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Minister of External Affairs Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Minister of Human Resource Development Arjun Munda Minister of Tribal Affairs Smriti Z Irani Minister of Women and Child Development; Textiles Harsh Vardhan Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology; Earth Sciences Prakash Javadekar Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Information and Broadcasting Piyush Goyal Minister of Railways; Commerce and Industry Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Steel Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Ministry of Minority Affairs Pralhad Joshi Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Coal; Mines Mahendra Nath Pandey Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Arvind Ganpat Sawant Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise Giriraj Singh Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister of Jal Shakti Ministers of State (Independent Charge) Post Santosh Kumar Gangwar Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Labour and Employment Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Ministry of Planning Shripad Yesso Naik Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of Defence Jitendra Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; In the Prime Minister’s Office; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space Kiren Rijiju Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; Ministry of Minority Affairs Prahalad Singh Patel Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Tourism Raj Kumar Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Power; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Ministry of Civil Aviation; Ministry of Commerce and Industry Mansukh L Mandaviya Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Shipping; Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministers of State (MoS) Post Faggansingh Kulaste MoS-Ministry of Steel Ashwini Kumar Choubey MoS- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Arjun Ram Meghwal MoS-Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises VK Singh MoS-Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Krishan Pal MoS-Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Danve Raosaheb Dadarao MoS-Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution G Kishan Reddy MoS-Ministry of Home Affairs Parshottam Rupala MoS-Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramdas Athawale MoS-Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti MoS- Ministry of Rural Development Babul Supriyo MoS- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan MoS- Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao MoS-Ministry of Human Resource Development; Ministry of Communications; Ministry of Electronics and IT Anurag Singh Thakur MoS- Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Corporate Affairs Angadi Suresh Channabasappa MoS-Ministry of Railways Nityanand Rai MoS-Ministry of Home Affairs Rattan Lal Kataria MoS-Ministry of Jal Shakti; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment V Muraleedharan MoS- Ministry of External Affairs; Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Renuka Singh Saruta MoS-Ministry of Tribal Affairs Som Parkash MoS-Ministry of Commerce and Industry Rameswar Teli MoS-Ministry of Food Processing Industries Pratap Chandra Sarangi MoS-Ministry of MSME; Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Kailash Choudhari MoS-Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Sushri Debasree Chaudhari MoS-Ministry of Women and Child Development

Now that all the brouhaha over campaigning and results is over, it’s time to take stock of the General Elections results. Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (BJP and allies) came back to power with thumping victory with 353 seats in the Parliament of 545. Bhartiya Janta Party alone has won 303 seats. The cabinet was sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind on May 30. 

Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
For the first time since 1971, an incumbent prime minister has won a second consecutive term of office with an absolute majority in the 2019 general elections. Along with being the head of the government, he will also handle the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space.

Home Minister
Amit Shah
First time entrant in the government, Gandhinagar MP Amit Shah is considered close to PM Modi in a sense that they take most of the strategic decisions together. Shah has already started making news with his stand on national security and Kashmir.

Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh 
Home minister in Modi’s earlier cabinet, Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh is holding the Defence portfolio now. Known for his no nonsense attitude, Rajnath is a soft spoken politician and the senior most leader in the Modi Cabinet. During his stint as home minister in the previous term, Rajnath Singh battled with Kashmir militancy, Pakistan incursions, Pulwama attack, the emergence of Islamic State in India among other challenges.

Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman 
A Rajya Sabha MP (Upper House), Nirmala Sitharaman is the present Finance Minister of India. She held Defence portfolio in earlier government, being the first woman minister to do so in the history of the country. With an increase in unemployment rate and dwindling economical conditions, Sitharaman has a touch battle ahead. 

Minister of External Affairs
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar 
A 1977 batch IFS officer, S Jaishankar is a surprise pick by PM Narendra Modi. A diplomat, who retired as the foriegn secretary of India, Jaishankar was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. He is also credited with helping resolve the Doklam stand-off between India and China. But he has to fill huge shoes of former Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj whose term would be remembered for prompt action and humane politics. 

Minister of transport
Nitin Gadkari
Known as highway man, Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari has been sworn in as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Modi government. During his earlier stint, as the transport minister, Gadkari is credited with building excellent Road and Highway network with approximately 26 kms per day. 

Minister of Women and child development 
Smriti Irani 
This Amethi MP is back, and how. In the last government, Irani had become the youngest cabinet minister and held several portfolios, including HRD, Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Minister. In 2019, she has been re-inducted with the portfolios of Minister of Women and Child development and Textiles. Irani had lost 2004 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections to Rahul Gandhi but in 2019 she emerged as a giant-killer by defeating the Congress president in his own bastion. 

Minister of Health
Harsh Vardhan
Doctor-turned-politician New Delhi MP Dr Harsh Vardhan is the Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. He has retained his earlier portfolio. During his stint as Delhi minister, he had successfully launched the Pulse Polio Programme, which was later launched nationwide for immunisation of millions of children against polio. 

Minister of Railways
Piyush Goyal
Credited with announcing the first bullet train in India, the Rajya Sabha MP, Piyush Goyal is the Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry. A Mumbai boy, Goyal is an alumni of Don Bosco School and HR College. A chartered accountant by profession, Goyal is known for his networking and banking skills.  

Minister of Law & Justice
Ravi Shankar Prasad
A first-time MP, Ravi Shankar Prasad defeated Congress’ Shatrughan Sinha (earlier with BJP) from Patna Sahib constituency. A noted Supreme Court advocate, Prasad holds the portfolios of Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology.  During the previous Modi government, Prasad was Union Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Minister. He served as a minister is Atal Bihari Vajpayee government also.

Here’s the complete list of the ministers in the Modi govt

Cabinet Minister Post
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space
Rajnath Singh Minister of Defence
Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs
Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
DV Sadananda Gowda Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs
Ramvilas Paswan Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Rural Development; Panchayati Raj
Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister of Law and Justice; Communications; Electronics and Information Technology
Harsimrat Kaur Badal Minister of Food Processing Industries
Thaawar Chand Gehlot Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Minister of External Affairs
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Minister of Human Resource Development
Arjun Munda Minister of Tribal Affairs
Smriti Z Irani Minister of Women and Child Development; Textiles
Harsh Vardhan Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology; Earth Sciences
Prakash Javadekar Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Information and Broadcasting
Piyush Goyal Minister of Railways; Commerce and Industry
Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Steel
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Ministry of Minority Affairs
Pralhad Joshi Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Coal; Mines
Mahendra Nath Pandey Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Arvind Ganpat Sawant Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise
Giriraj Singh Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister of Jal Shakti
Ministers of State (Independent Charge) Post
Santosh Kumar Gangwar Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Labour and Employment
Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Ministry of Planning
Shripad Yesso Naik Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of Defence
Jitendra Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; In the Prime Minister’s Office; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space
Kiren Rijiju Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; Ministry of Minority Affairs
Prahalad Singh Patel Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Tourism
Raj Kumar Singh Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Power; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of State (IC)-Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Ministry of Civil Aviation; Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Mansukh L Mandaviya Minister of State (IC)- Ministry of Shipping; Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Ministers of State (MoS) Post
Faggansingh Kulaste MoS-Ministry of Steel
Ashwini Kumar Choubey MoS- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Arjun Ram Meghwal MoS-Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
VK Singh MoS-Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Krishan Pal MoS-Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Danve Raosaheb Dadarao MoS-Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
G Kishan Reddy MoS-Ministry of Home Affairs
Parshottam Rupala MoS-Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Ramdas Athawale MoS-Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti MoS- Ministry of Rural Development
Babul Supriyo MoS- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Sanjeev Kumar Balyan MoS- Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao MoS-Ministry of Human Resource Development; Ministry of Communications; Ministry of Electronics and IT
Anurag Singh Thakur MoS- Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Angadi Suresh Channabasappa MoS-Ministry of Railways
Nityanand Rai MoS-Ministry of Home Affairs
Rattan Lal Kataria MoS-Ministry of Jal Shakti; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
V Muraleedharan MoS- Ministry of External Affairs; Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Renuka Singh Saruta MoS-Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Som Parkash MoS-Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Rameswar Teli MoS-Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Pratap Chandra Sarangi MoS-Ministry of MSME; Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
Kailash Choudhari MoS-Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Sushri Debasree Chaudhari MoS-Ministry of Women and Child Development

Fun Fact

The first Lok Sabha elections were contested for 489 seats. Now we have 545 constituencies two of which are nominated by the President.


Rate Now


Read to me