Portfolios allocated
NEW DELHI: BJP President Amit Shah was on Friday named the new Home Minister succeeding Rajnath Singh who was shifted to Defence in place of Nirmala Sitharaman who will be the country’s first full-time woman Finance Minister while former foreign secretary S Jaishankar, a surprise pick, got the External Affairs portfolio.
A day after Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second consecutive term along with 57 ministers, the portfolios were allocated that reflected a rejig of the top four Ministries – Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs – for a new look Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) while other portfolios largely remained with those who held them in the outgoing government.
With the induction of Shah, who helped craft his party’s recent landslide Lok Sabha poll victory, and Jaishankar, both of whom are making a debut in the Central government, there are two new faces in the all-powerful CCS which is chaired by Prime Minister Modi.
The CCS is the final decision-making body on matters related to country’s security, including defence policy and internal security. Singh and Sitharaman, who also got Corporate Affairs, continue to be in the CCS though their portfolios have been changed. Singh has been moved across the road from North Block to South Block in Raisina Hill while it was the reverse direction for Sitharaman.
A new Ministry of Jal Shakti has been created and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is its Cabinet minister. (See portfolios on Page 5)
The portfolios of 24 Cabinet ministers, nine Ministers of State (Independent charge) and 24 Ministers of State allocated by the Prime Minister were announced in a communiqué issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
One-third of the total ministers in the Cabinet are first-timers, which include Shah and Jaishankar.
Arunachal West MP and Minister of State (Independent charge) Kiren Rijiju is the new Sports minister while Rameswar Teli from Assam is Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Pension cover to farmers
The first Cabinet meeting of the Modi government 2.0 on Friday approved a path-breaking scheme that will provide pension cover to crores of farmers.
”The Central government would spend Rs 10,774.5 crore for a period of 3 years,” Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters here in a briefing after the meeting.
”The Cabinet, approved the scheme which is voluntary and contributory for all small and marginal farmers across the country, with entry age of 18 to 40 years with a provision of minimum fixed pension of Rs 3,000 on attaining the age of 60 years,” Tomar said.
The Cabinet also cleared pension scheme for traders which will benefit as many as three crore retail traders and shop keepers.
Pension scheme
for traders
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a new scheme that offers pension coverage to the trading community, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
This is a part of the Prime Minister’s vision to provide a robust architecture of the universal social security, he said.
”India has a rich tradition of trade and commerce. Our traders continue to make a strong contribution to India’s economic growth,” he added.
Under this scheme, all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons are assured a minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 month after attaining the age of 60 years. All small shopkeepers and self-employed persons, as well as the retail traders with GST turnover below Rs 1.5 crore and age between 18-40 years, can enroll for this scheme, which would benefit more than three crore small shopkeepers and traders. The scheme is based on self-declaration, as no documents are required, except Aadhaar and bank account.
Interested persons can enroll themselves through more than 3,25,000 Common Service Centres, spread across the country. The Union government will make matching contribution in the subscribers’ account. For example, if a person with age of 29 years, contributes Rs 100 per month, then the Central government also contributes the equal amount as subsidy into the subscriber’s pension account, every month.
Budget on July 5
The first session of the newly-elected Lok Sabha has been convened from June 17 to July 26 and the new government will present its first Budget on July 5, in which it is expected to provide an insight about the programmes to be undertaken in the second term.
The election for Lok Sabha Speaker will take place on June 19, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Friday.
The Economic Survey, which gives the status of the country’s economy, will be presented in Parliament on July 4. (Agencies)