NEW DELHI: A day after the much-anticipated portfolios were announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team of ministers got into work gear on Tuesday by filing into their respective offices to assume charge. Signalling both change and continuity in a seamless transition from the previous government to the present one, the four big frontline portfolios stay the same -- Amit Shah for home, S. Jaishankar for external affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman for finance and Rajnath Singh for defence.
Mr Shah, along with his two deputies (ministers of state) Nityannad Rai and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, assumed the charge of the Union home ministry today. In his post on X Mr Shah said that under the leadership of Mr Modi, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) will remain committed to the security of the nation and its people, as it always has been. He also said that Modi 3.0 will take its efforts for India's security to the next level and build Bharat as a bulwark against terrorism, insurgency and naxalism.
Shortly after taking over the ministerial responsibility, Mr Jaishankar said that Bharat First and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) will be the two guiding axioms of Indian foreign policy.
On ties with China going forward, the external affairs minister said some issues remained along the border with that country and efforts will be made to resolve them. "Our focus with regard to China will be on how to resolve the remaining issues," he told the media.
BJP president J.P. Nadda assumed charge of the health as well as the chemical and fertiliser ministries.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, who continues to hold the key portfolios of railways and electronics and information technology, assumed charge as information and broadcasting minister in the presence of senior officials, including information and broadcasting secretary Sanjay Jaju.
"The Prime Minister has made service to the poorest of the poor the motto of his life and the main aim of the government. He has taken measures for the welfare of farmers, youth and the empowerment of women," Mr Vaishnaw said after assuming the charge.
Donning his MeitY hat as he resumed charge of the ministry, he said the government will push ahead with its tech-driven agenda of cementing India's global lead in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing and as a technology and digital hub.
Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday took charge of the ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare. Speaking with the media on the occasion, he said he is happy to say that the first decision taken by the Prime Minister yesterday was in the interest of the farmers.
Mr Chouhan also said Mr Modi has resolved to double the income of farmers and the government will take every possible step for the welfare of farmers, as the NDA government has been committed to farmers’ welfare for the past 10 years and his ministry will continue to work towards achieving the goals.
On Tuesday, Piyush Goyal took charge of the commerce and industry ministry and said it will work to promote the country's economic growth. Jitin Prasada also assumed charge as the minister of state for commerce and industry.
Mr Goyal said the ministry is committed to making India a Vikshit Bharat by 2047. He took charge of the ministry for the second time.
Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, appointed communications minister, said both the telecom sector and the India Post division have key roles to play at the global as well as local level.
The minister recalled his previous tenure as the minister of state for communications about one-and-a-half decades ago.
"It is also a little bit like coming full circle for me. I worked as a junior minister in this department many, many years ago, in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Therefore, for me, it is also a department with which I have had tremendous emotional ties," Mr Scindia said.
Assuming the charge, the parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, also given the responsibility of minority affairs, said he will make all efforts to take everyone along to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. There is no need to pull each other down on the basis of numerical strength, he added.
"We need not pull each other down on the basis of numerical strength. People use muscle power outside Parliament, but inside the House, we should use vocal power for good debate," he said after assuming charge in the presence of his predecessor Pralhad Joshi and ministers of state Arjun Ram Meghwal and L. Murugan.
Annapurna Devi, the country's new women and child development minister, said she will work towards fulfilling Mr Modi's dream of a Viksit Bharat, while the new culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat echoed her and said his ministry will contribute towards the vision of making a Viksit Bharat.
Mr Joshi took over as minister for consumer affairs, food & public distribution. He said his priority will be to implement the 100-day agenda of the government and further strengthen the food security system.
"I am thankful to the Prime Minister who has given me the responsibility of this important department, which is linked to the common people, where we provide free foodgrains to 80-crore people," Mr Joshi said.
Jitendra Singh, who took office as Union minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions at his North Block office, said good governance reforms undertaken in the last decade will continue to increase citizen-centricity and ensure ease of living for every citizen. The PM is in charge of the ministry of the DoPT.
"The last 10 years have witnessed a series of revolutionary governance reforms happening under the guidance of Mr Modi, which were basically inspired by the spirit of "minimum government, maximum governance" and increasing citizen centricity to bring ease of living to every citizen of the country," Mr Singh told the media.
RSS pracharak, Haryana's former chief minister and now Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar met heads of public sector undertakings in the power sector and other top brass of his ministry to understand the dynamics of the sector. He, however, did not offer any comments to mediapersons about the key challenges and his plan of action for at least the next 100 days in the power sector.
Amid the chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”, the BJP's Gujarat unit chief Chandrakant Raghunath Patil took charge of the jal shakti ministry. Before doing so, he took to social media to state that the conservation and enhancement of the country's water resources is a "sacred goal".
Promising continuity, new environment minister Bhupender Yadav said the Modi government will continue to balance development with environmental protection and conservation.
Listing the major achievements of the Modi-led government, Mr Yadav said, "India met the quantitative and qualitative targets set under its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) -- the national climate plan to achieve Paris Agreement goals -- nine years ahead of schedule."
There were jubilant scenes when Chirag Paswan, the two-time MP from Bihar and chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), took office as minister of food processing industries after a small religious ceremony in the presence of his mother and other family members.
"There is huge potential in the food processing sector and the 100-day plan will be ready after discussion with ministry officials," Mr Paswan said, underscoring the sector's importance in directly benefiting farmers.
Among the ministers from the BJP’s allies, Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh took charge of the ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry & dairying and Panchayati Raj. He said that there will be continuity in the implementation of the vision and policies of the Narendra Modi government. He also said his focus will be on removing any roadblock that may appear in the implementation of this vision.
Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also assumed charge of the micro, small and medium enterprises ministry.
