New Delhi: After the mega cabinet reshuffle last week, the Modi government Monday reconstituted the cabinet committees, inducting new labour minister Bhupender Yadav and railway & IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw into two committees each.
There are eight cabinet committees that act as the final decision-making body on important political, economic, security and investment matters.
While Yadav is part of the important cabinet committee on political affairs and employment and skill development, Vaishnaw is part of the cabinet committee on investment and growth and cabinet committee on employment and skill development.
There has been no change in the pecking order of the top ministers. Home minister Amit Shah continues to be the second most powerful man in the government after PM Modi and is part of all eight cabinet committees. Defence minister Rajnath Singh is part of six committees, including security, economic and political affairs. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is part of four committees — accommodation, economic affairs, political affairs and investment and growth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to head six of the eight committees — appointments, economic affairs, political affairs, security, investment and growth, and employment and skill development.
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Sonowal, Smriti Irani part of panel on political affairs
Among the other new entries in the cabinet committee are law minister Kiren Rijiju, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Singh Thakur and social justice and empowerment minister Virendra Kumar, who are part of the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs.
Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises minister Narayan Tatu Rane are part of the cabinet committee on investment and growth.
New shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, rural development minister Giriraj Singh and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya are part of the cabinet committee on political affairs.
Among the old ministers, who were part of the cabinet earlier, WCD minister Smriti Irani has made an entry and is part of the cabinet committee on political affairs.
The other ministers who have continued in the cabinet committees include external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, who is part of two committees — security and economic affairs. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is part of seven committees including security, political affairs, economic affairs and parliamentary affairs.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is part of five committees, while education minister Dharmendra Pradhan is part of two cabinet committees — economic affairs and employment & skill development.
Hardeep Puri is part of two committees — accommodation and employment and skill development while agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar is part of four committees including economic affairs and political affairs.
Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi is part of the parliamentary affairs and political affairs committees.
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No allies part of cabinet committee
No NDA ally is part of any of the main cabinet committees. Steel minister R.C.P. Singh, who is from JD(U), is just a special invitee in the cabinet committee on employment and skill development.
The Modi government had last reconstituted six existing cabinet committees in June 2019. At that time it had set up two new ones on investment and employment, taking the total number of such committees to eight.
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