The government has announced the list for council of ministers for union government of Modi 3.0. All ministries, small and big, have been included in this list. Many people from the previous councils have been retained, but some faces are brand new. You can see the entire list here.
Which council ministries are the same? Which council ministries are different? What does this mean for the council of ministers? Let us discuss below.
Table of Contents
Narendra Modi and his Ministries
Besides being the Prime Minister of Bharat, Narendra Modi is also the Head of Department for Atomic Energy and Department of Space. While Modi was closely involved with ISRO for projects throughout, the entry of Narendra Modi in the Atomic Energy department shows that a renewed focus on atomic energy is coming. Perhaps a renewal of the three stage nuclear program, envisioned by Shri Atal Biihari Vajpayee, will be renewed.
A bigger dependence on nuclear energy is one of the many ways to achieve the thirty by thirty target for 30% carbon emission by 2030, and net zero carbon emission by 2070. A push towards nuclear energy, like what we saw with solar energy 5 years ago, will see Bharat industrialize using green energy.
Retained Council Ministries
The repeating names on the roster list include several BJP favourites.
Dr. S Jaishankar has retained the Council Union Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Nitin Gadkari has retained his post as the Council Union Minister of Road Transportation and Highways, Shri Raj Nath Singh has retained the Council Union Ministry of Defense. Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman has retained the Council Union Ministry of Finance, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal has retained the Council Union Ministry of Law, Shri Ashwini Vaishnav has retained the Council Union Ministry of Railways and Shri Amit Shah has retained the Home Ministry and Council Union Ministry of Cooperatives.
Amit Shah has been the Council Union Minister of Cooperatives since 2021, and he retains his post in NDA 3.0. This is also the same with many other ministries who came after COVID-19.
This shows that these ministers, along with a few others who have retained ministries, have delivered and their vision must continue. Meanwhile, other ministers that have been retained but their ministries have changed.
Same people, Different Council
Several parliamentarians are familiar faces, but their roles have changed. They are as follows:
Jyotiraditya Scindia has left his father’s Council Union Ministry of Aviation and has become the new Council Union Minister for Communications. Jyotiraditya is also the Council Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region. The North East political conflict between the kings and the tribals is similar to the dynamics of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is fairly more peaceful, and hence this pick would be interesting.
Further, Piyush Goyal is the Council Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, leaving his Council Union Ministry of Textiles behind. His experience as a Chartered Accountant would be useful here.
Kiren Rijiju left behind his Council Union Ministry of Law in the previous term itself. But today, he is part of both the Council Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, bringing his experience in Law to the fore, and also the Council Union Minister for Minority Affairs.
Dharmendra Pradhan has left the Council Union Ministry of Steel and the Council Union Ministry of Petroleum. He is now heading the Council Union Ministry of Education. Considering his background in Anthropology, as well as his active participation in Akhil Bharatiya Vishyarti Parishad, we can expect some major changes in education with regards to decolonization and revision of perspectives and content in the history textbooks with his addition to the list.
Ministers like Rajiv Chandrashekhar have not been given any post in the new list of Council Union Ministries. Their names are missing from the list.
New Council, New Faces
There are many new faces as well, in the current government. They are the following faces:
Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal is the Union Council Minister of Law in the new government, a post he is retaining but has been a part of since late last year. This indicates a push for legal and judicial reforms which are desired by the people in light of the pending legal cases and the slow and nepotistic and ideologically charged judiciary. The recent decisions of the judiciary have triggered several politicians across the political spectrum, and it is indicative of a hardening of the polity against the divide and rule of the polity.
Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu is the new Council Union Minister for Aviation. He has done a Bachelors in Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and is currently the youngest minister in the history of Bharat to head a union council ministry. Earning this council post is achievement itself for him.
Chirag Paswan has received the Council post of Ministry of Food Processing. His knowledge on his balanced diet has awarded him this council.
Conclusion
The list of council of ministers is never final. As the government proceeds and the needs and wants of people evolve, cabinet and council are shuffled and reshuffled accordingly. This term is meant to be a legacy term for the National Democratic Alliance. The Bharatiya Janata Party has promised the setting of a new narrative for Bharat for the last ten years. The council aspires to establish a new ecosystem coincides with the public challenging of the older ecosystem that many people have seen taking place in the public sphere.
While most younger than 30 today do not remember this ecosystem council, as they were too young to interact with it, others will tell you the relief they feel with the growing challengers challenging the old class. Whether it is economy, culture, religion, history, or anything else, seeing an alternate council rise up will ensure more diverse thought. This intellectual and structural revolution will define Bharat for a thousand years to come. Yet, the positive impact of these changes in council must be felt on the ground in the next five years, else the effort of making this council list would be futile.
