Modi 3.0 Cabinet Portfolio Allocation Full List: Nitin Gadkari Returns Road And Transport Ministry, S Jaishankar Returns As EAM – Sources

A day after the swearing-in ceremony of the National Democratic Alliance cabinet including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government will today allocate portfolios to its ministers. The BJP is likely to retain key ministries like Home Ministry, Finance, External Affairs and Defence. The NDA allies like the JDS, JDU, LJP-RV and Shiv Sena have also likely to get their fare share of the ministries as per the alliance deal.

According to Zee News TV sources, Nitin Gadkari has been reappointed as the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, accompanied by a minister of state. Ashwini Vaishnav is expected to take charge of the Ministry of Railways, while S. Jaishankar has been assigned the Ministry of External Affairs. 

President of India Droupadi Murmu administered oath of office to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 71 Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhawan yesterday in presence of some global leaders and people from all walks of life who were invited to the grand ceremony.

The new Modi 3.0 Cabinet includes 30 Cabinet Ministers, five Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 36 Ministers of State. PM Modi is the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve three consecutive terms. The key faces in the Modi cabinet include Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, S Jaishankar while allies who got Cabinet Minister berths include H. D. Kumaraswamy (JDS), Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (TDP), Chirag Paswan (LJP-RV) and Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM) and Lalan Singh (JDU).

Of all the allies of the NDA, only NCP-Ajit Pawar was left out of the cabinet as the party rejected the offer of Minister of State with Independent Charge saying it would be a demotion for its candidate Praful Patel. Patel had earlier served as cabinet minister in the UPA government. The BJP has assured the NCP of resolving the issue in the coming days.

Since the first meeting of the Union Cabinet is likeky to be held this evening, it’s being speculated that the cabinet portfolio allocation will be cleared before the meeting. Induction of Rajya Sabha MPs like JP Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar show that these leaders are likely to get big responsibilities.

Below is the full list of the minister and their cabinet portfolio:

(**This list will be updated once portfolios are allocated)

Leaders from India’s neighbourhood – Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh joined PM Modi at the stage in Rashtrapati Bhavan after he took oath as the Prime Minister. Speaking to leaders of the neighbouring countries who attended the swearing-in ceremony, PM Modi said that participation of the foreign dignitaries reaffirm India’s commitment to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. PM Modi shared his dedication to serving the vast population of India, aiming to propel the nation to greater heights of progress.

“Took oath as Prime Minister at the ceremony earlier this evening. I look forward to serving 140 crore Indians and working with the Council of Ministers to take India to new heights of progress. Congratulations to all those who have taken oath today. This team of Ministers is a great blend of youth and experience, and we will leave no stone unturned in improving the lives of people,” said PM Modi in a post on X.