PM Modi’s Cabinet Reboot: 43 new, old ministers taking oath

News Network
July 7, 2021

New Delhi: Forty-three new ministers will be sworn-in this evening as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to revamp his administration that has been heavily criticised over the handling of the coronavirus crisis, soaring prices and resentment from several sections.

The names in the cabinet reshuffle include several new entrants as well as existing ministers who will be reassigned.

In an unexpected move, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who held key portfolios of law and information technology, and Prakash Javadekar, the minister for environment, information and broadcasting and heavy industries, stepped down.

Also among the top ministers who were asked resign was Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, paying the political price for the government's struggles to cope with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections.

In all, at least 12 ministers have resigned including prominent ones like Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and junior Environment Minister Babul Supriyo.

The "big four" ministers for finance, foreign affairs, home and defence, however, are unlikely to be changed.

Before announcing his first cabinet reshuffle since winning a second term in 2019, PM Modi consulted leaders of his BJP, a government official said.

Government sources said the Prime Minister had been aiming to include younger members of his party to be ministers and also give greater representation to women and backward classes - a crucial consideration ahead of important state elections starting with Uttar Pradesh early next year.

There are plans for a ceremony to swear in new ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6 pm. Only a small number of people will be attending the ceremony due to the coronavirus risk.

PM Modi's government has faced its most stinging criticism in years as the infections and deaths surged in April and May, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums.

Images of bodies of presumed COVID-19 victims washed up on the banks of the Ganges river fuelled outrage over a failure to do more to protect vulnerable communities.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was among the first to comment on the changes.

"The resignations of the Union Health Minister and the MoS (Minister of State) Health is a candid confession that the Modi government has utterly failed in managing the pandemic," Mr Chidambaram tweeted.

"There is a lesson for ministers in these resignations. If things go right the credit will go to the PM, if things go wrong the Minister will be the fall guy. That is the price a Minister pays for implicit obedience and unquestioning  subservience," he wrote.

Here is the list of ministers who will take oath on Wednesday for their new departments:

1. Narayan Rane
2. Sarbananda Sonowal
3. Dr. Virendra Kumar
4. Jyotiraditya M Scindia
5. Ramchandra Prasad Singh
6. Ashwini Vaishnaw
7. Pashupati Paras
8. Kiren Rijiju
9. Raj Kumar Singh
10.Hardeep Singh Puri
11.Mansukh Mandaviya
12.Bhupender Yadav
13.Parshottam Rupala
14.G. Kishan Reddy
15.Anurag Singh Thakur
16.Pankaj Choudhary
17. Anupriya Singh Patel
18.Dr. Satya Pal Singh Baghel
19. Rajeev Chandrasekhar
20.Shobha Karandlaje
21.Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma
22. Darshana Vikram Jardosh
23. Meenakshi Lekhi
24. Annapurna Devi
25.A. Narayanaswamy
26.Kaushal Kishore
27.Ajay Bhatt
28.B. L. Verma
29.Ajay Kumar
30.Chauhan Devusinh
31.Bhagwanth Khuba
32.Kapil Moreshwar Patil
33.Pratima Bhoumik
34.Dr. Subhas Sarkar
35.Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
36.Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
37.Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar
38.Bishweswar Tudu
39.Shantanu Thakur
40.Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai
41.John Barla
42.Dr. L. Murugan
43.Nisith Pramanik

Comments

Ramesh Mishra
 - 
Wednesday, 14 Jul 2021

MODI, PM OF INDIA
No Prime Minister of India has caused massive death after India obtained its independence in 1947, like Modi, PM of India and his BJP party has caused since the declaration of Covid-19, pandemic in March 2020. India not to appoint IAS and PCS, justices, in my opinion, " Uttar Pradesh IAS and PCS mostly are butchers". They are irreparably injuring the public appearing before them for justice, these butchers consider themselves above the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India and above the Rule of Law. Modi's unskilled, unwise, evil management of India during the pandemic has doomed India. Modi and his Cabinet Ministers lack the moral and ethical fibre to govern India, Modi must resign and allow an honest and qualified person to replace him. The world is not so corrupt as India under Modi's regime of terror.
Ramesh Mishra
Victoria, BC, CANADA

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News Network
December 2,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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News Network
November 24,2025

lebanon.jpg

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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News Network
November 29,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Saturday put up a dramatic display of unity at a closely watched joint press briefing, firmly dismissing weeks of speculation about a power-sharing tussle within the Congress. With the high command nudging both leaders to sit together and settle the dust, the meeting became a political spectacle, ending with the duo declaring that there was “no confusion, no differences.”

Calling the reports of a rift “manufactured confusion,” Siddaramaiah said the talks had gone smoothly, even joking about their breakfast. “Breakfast was very good. All three of us enjoyed it,” he said. “We want to end this confusion once and for all. For local elections and for 2028, our mission is clear — Congress must return to power. There is no difference between me and DKS, not now, not before.”

He blamed the media for fuelling rumours and reiterated absolute adherence to the party leadership. “From tomorrow, let there be no confusion. What the high command says, we will follow.”

Siddaramaiah also assured that the Assembly session starting December 8 would run smoothly and vowed that Congress would take on the BJP and JD(S) “together.”

Shivakumar echoed the chief minister word for word, stressing loyalty and discipline. “People have given us a massive mandate. It is our duty to deliver,” he said. “This government was formed under Siddaramaiah’s leadership. We both have complete trust in the high command. If they tell me to wait, I will wait.”

He added that the two leaders had discussed strategy for the 2028 Assembly elections. “Whatever the CM says, I agree. We are loyal soldiers of the party. The party may be facing challenges nationally, but we will keep it strong in Karnataka.”

Shivakumar also said Siddaramaiah would soon visit his home for lunch or dinner — another symbolic gesture meant to underline their unity.

Both leaders later posted on social media describing the breakfast meeting as “productive” and focused on “Karnataka’s priorities.”

The BJP, however, rejected the show of camaraderie as “pure bunkum,” accusing Congress of trying to paper over an internal power struggle. But Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar insisted their united front would continue — and that there was “no confusion” within the state leadership.

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