STATE TIMES NEWS

New Delhi: Most of the key cabinet ministers in the third Narendra Modi-led government have retained the portfolios they held in the previous BJP dispensation.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president J P Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers. While Nadda had served in the first Modi government and has this time been made the health minister, Oram returned to the Centre after a gap as the minister for tribal affairs.
Rajnath Singh (BJP): He has seen a long political innings from being a chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has retained the defence portfolio.

Amit Shah (BJP): He has retained the home and cooperation portfolios. He has also served as BJP national president for six years.

Nitin Gadkari (BJP): He has retained the road and highways portfolio. Closely associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from his early days, he is seen as a crusader for bio-fuels. He too has been a national president of the BJP.

Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP): She continues as minister of finance and corporate affairs. A Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, she decided against contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

S Jaishankar (BJP): A career diplomat who has served as India’s envoy to Beijing and later rose to become the foreign secretary. He was the external affairs minister in the second Modi government. He has retained the portfolio.

Piyush Goyal (BJP): He was the minister of commerce and industry, consumer affairs, food and public distribution and textiles as well as Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha, in the previous Modi government. This time, he has retained the commerce and industry portfolio.

Dharmendra Pradhan (BJP): He has served as minister of education and minister of skill development and entrepreneurship. He has retained the education portfolio.

Pralhad Joshi (BJP): The minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines in the second Modi government, he has this time been given the consumer affairs, food and public distribution, and the new and renewable energy portfolios.

Sarbananda Sonowal (BJP): He was the minister for ports, shipping and waterways and Ayush. He retained the port, shipping and waterways portfolio.

Virendra Kumar (BJP): An eight-time Lok Sabha member, he was the pro-tem speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha tasked with the oath-taking of members as well as presiding over the election of the speaker. He was minister for social justice and empowerment in the previous Modi government and retained the portfolio this time.

Giriraj Singh (BJP): As a member of the last Lok Sabha, he became the cabinet minister of the newly formed ministry of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries. Later, he was shifted to the rural development ministry. Now, he has been made the minister for textiles.

Jyotiraditya Scindia (BJP): He served as the minister for civil aviation and steel in the second Modi government from 2021 after switching over from the Congress. He has been made the minister for communications and minister for Development of North Eastern Region in this BJP-led NDA dispensation.

Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP): He was the railways and IT minister in the previous Modi government. This time, besides railways and IT, he also heads the ministry of information and broadcasting.

Kiren Rijiju (BJP): He was the law minister and later became the minister for earth sciences in the second Modi government. He now has been given charge of parliamentary affairs and minority affairs.

Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awami Morcha (S)): He has been given the portfolio of micro, small and medium enterprises. His party is part of the BJP-led NDA.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh (JD-U): The leader of the BJP ally has been made the minister for panchayati raj and minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying. Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (TDP): He has been given civil aviation portfolio in the NDA government.

PRIME MINISTER

• Narendra Modi – Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space

CABINET MINISTERS

• Amit Shah – Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Cooperation
• Nitin Gadkari – Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
• JP Nadda – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• Shivraj Singh Chouhan – Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare; Ministry of Rural Development
• Nirmala Sitharaman – Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• Subrahmanyam Jaishankar – Ministry of External Affairs
• Manohar Lal Khattar – Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Ministry of Power
• JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy – Ministry of Heavy Industries; Ministry of Steel
• Piyush Goyal – Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Dharmendra Pradhan – Ministry of Education
• HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi – Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
• JD(U) leader Lalan Singh – Ministry of Panchayati Raj; Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
• Sarbananda Sonowal – Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
• Virendra Kumar – Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• TDP leader Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu – Ministry of Civil Aviation
• Prahlad Joshi – Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Jual Oram – Ministry of Tribal Affairs
• Giriraj Singh – Ministry of Textiles
• Ashwini Vaishnaw – Ministry of Railways; Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• Jyotiraditya Scindia – Ministry of Communications; Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
• Bhupendra Yadav – Ministry of Environment and Forests
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat – Ministry of Tourism; Ministry of Culture
• Annpurna Devi – Ministry of Women & Child Development
• Kiren Rijiju – Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Minority Affairs
• Hardeep Singh Puri – Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
• Mansukh Mandaviya – Ministry of Labour & Employment; Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
• G Kishan Reddy – Ministry of Coal; Ministry of Mines
• LJP(RV) Chirag Paswan – Ministry of Food Processing Industries
• C R Patil – Ministry of Jal Shakti

MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) 

• C R Patil – Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Rao Inderjit Singh – Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Ministry of Planning; Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture
• Jitendra Singh – Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; Minister of State in the Department of Space
• Arjun Ram Meghwal – Ministry of Law and Justice; Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
• Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav – Ministry of Ayush; Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary – Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Minister of State in the Ministry of Education

MINISTERS OF STATE 

• Jitin Prasada – MoS Ministry of Commerce and Industry; MoS Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Shripad Yesso Naik – MoS Ministry of Power; MoS Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
• Pankaj Chaudhary – MoS Ministry of Finance
• Krishan Pal – MoS Ministry of Cooperation
• RPI(A) leader Athawale Ramdas Bandu – MoS Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• Ram Nath Thakur – MoS Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• Nityanand Rai – MoS Ministry of Home Affairs
• Anupriya Singh Patel – MoS Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; MoS Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
• V Somanna – MoS Ministry of Jal Shakti; MoS Ministry of Railways
• TDP MP Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani – MoS Ministry of Rural Development; MoS Ministry of Communications
• S. P. Singh Baghel – MoS Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; MoS Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Shobha Karandlaje – MoS Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; MoS Ministry of Labour and Employment
• Kirti Vardhan Singh – MoS Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; MoS Ministry of External Affairs
• BL Verma – MoS Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; MoS Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• Shantanu Thakur – MoS Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
• Suresh Gopi – MoS Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; MoS Ministry of Tourism
• L. Murugan – MoS Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; MoS Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
• Ajay Tamta – MoS Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
• Bandi Sanjay Kumar – MoS Ministry of Home Affairs
• Kamlesh Paswan – MoS Ministry of Rural Development
• Bhagirath Choudhary – MoS Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• Satish Chandra Dubey – MoS Ministry of Coal; MoS Ministry of Mines
• Sanjay Seth – MoS Ministry of Defence
• Ravneet Singh Bittu – MoS Ministry of Food Processing Industries; MoS Ministry of Railways
• Durga Das Uikey – MoS Ministry of Tribal Affairs
• Raksha Nikhil Khadse – MoS Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
• Sukanta Majumdar – MoS Ministry of Education; MoS Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
• Savitri Thakur – MoS Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Tokhan Sahu – MoS Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
• Raj Bhushan Choudhary – MoS Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma – MoS Ministry of Heavy Industries; MoS Ministry of Steel
• Harsh Malhotra – MoS Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; MoS Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• Nimuben Bambhania – MoS Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• Murlidhar Mohol – MoS Ministry of Cooperation; MoS Ministry of Civil Aviation
• George Kurian – MoS Ministry of Minority Affairs; MoS Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
• Pabitra Margherita – MoS Ministry of External Affairs; MoS Ministry of Textiles

Release of ‘Kisan Nidhi’ fund is Modi’s first decision in 3rd term

NEW DELHI: Taking charge as Prime Minister in his third term, Narendra Modi on Monday signed his first file authorising the release of 17th installment of the ‘PM Kisan Nidhi’ funds amounting to nearly Rs 20,000 crore, which will benefit around 9.3 crore farmers. After signing on to the release of funds, Modi said, “Ours is a government fully committed to ‘kisan kalyan’ (farmers’ welfare). It is, therefore, fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to it. We want to keep working even more for farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come.” The decision signifies the government’s commitment to farmers’ welfare following the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s poll win, albeit with some setback, especially in parts of rural India.

Cabinet approves assistance for constructing 3 crore houses under PMAY

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet in its first meeting under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday approved government assistance for the construction of three crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
This was the first meeting of the Union Cabinet of Modi 3.0 government held at the Prime Minister’s 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence. The meeting was attended by ministers of all allies of the NDA. “It has been decided in the Cabinet meeting today to provide assistance to three crore additional rural and urban households for the construction of houses to meet the housing requirements arising out of the increase in the number of eligible families,” officials said.
The government of India is implementing the PMAY since 2015-16 to provide assistance to eligible rural and urban households for the construction of houses with basic amenities.
Modi lauded the decision as a boost for “ease of living” and dignity for crores of Indians.
He said on X, “This decision underscores the government’s commitment to addressing the housing needs of our nation and ensuring that every citizen leads a better quality of life. The expansion of PMAY also highlights our government’s commitment to inclusive growth and social welfare.”
Under PMAY, a total of 4.21 crore houses have been completed for the eligible poor families under the housing schemes in the last 10 years. All the houses constructed under PMAY are provided basic amenities like household toilets, LPG connection, electricity connection and functional household tap connection through convergence with other schemes of the central and state governments.
Bus terror attack…
The bus was ferrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Following the attack, a joint operation was launched involving the police, the Army, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and central intelligence agencies.
Survivors of the attack are recording their statements as part of the ongoing probe into the attack, while a thorough combing operation is underway to track down the perpetrators, the officials said.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, initially claimed responsibility for the attack but retracted its statement later.
Among those killed in the attack are two-year-old Titu Sawhney and his mother Pooja from Rajasthan. They were among four people from the state who lost their lives in the attack.
Three of the deceased were from Uttar Pradesh. The driver and the conductor of the bus, both from Reasi, were also among the victims.
The officials said five of the nine deceased had gunshot wounds.
They added that 41 people were injured in the attack and 10 of them had bullet injuries. Some of those injured were undergoing treatment in hospitals across Jammu and Reasi districts.
Security forces suspect the terrorists are hiding in the mountainous terrains of Rajouri and Reasi, and have intensified combing operations in the region.
“A search operation has been launched in the area,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, Mohita Sharma said, adding that village defence committees have also been geared up.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the attack, calling it a part of a malicious scheme to disrupt peace in the region.
Expressing solidarity with the affected families, the administration has approved ex gratia payments of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah have been briefed on the situation, with assurances that those responsible for the attack will face justice, Sinha said.
“The attack is a despicable attempt to instigate turmoil in Jammu, but we are resolute in our commitment to safeguard the region,” Sinha said during a visit to the Government Medical College to enquire after the injured.
In a related development, the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference condemned the terror attack and said the conglomerate “has and will always condemn all forms of violence against humanity. The loss of precious human lives is deeply disturbing”. Anti-Pakistan protests broke out across the Jammu region, including Katra, Doda town and Kathua district, calling for increased security measures to prevent such incidents.
Accusing Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the protesters demanded action against the neighbouring country.