NARENDRA MODI

Modi Cabinet: List of ministers with portfolios

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the list of 45 ministers in his Cabinet with their portfolios. Arun Jaitley emerges as the Number 2 in Modi's Cabinet with Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs.

The top 3 in Modi's Cabinet includes Sushma Swaraj who has been given the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Overseas Affairs and Rajnath Singh who goes on to becoming the Home Minister from being the BJP President.

Smriti Irani, who gave a tough fight to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi but lost to him, has been given the HRD Ministry. Uma Bharti, who had made a Twitter faux pas of revealing her ministry and then apologising, has in fact been given the ministry she had tweeted about - Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Here's the full list of ministers with portfolios:

Modi's Ministers: Who's Who in the new government

Narendra Modi

- Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

- Department of Atomic Energy

- Department of Space.

Rajnath Singh

- Home Affairs

Sushma Swaraj

- External Affairs

- Overseas Indian Affairs

Arun Jaitley

- Defence

- Finance

- Corporate Affairs

M Venkaiah Naidu

- Urban Development

- Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

- Parliamentary Affairs

DV Sadananda Gowda

- Railways

Nitin Gadkari

- Road Transport and Highways

- Shipping

Ram Vilas Paswan

- Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

Ashok Gajapathi Raju

- Civil Aviation

Anant Geete

- Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

Thaawar Chand Gehlot

- Social Justice and Empowerment

Harsh Vardhan

- Health and Family Welfare

Najma A. Heptulla

- Minority Affairs

Uma Bharati

- Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Ravi Shankar Prasad

- Communications and Information Technology

Law and Justice

Kalraj Mishra

- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

- Women and Child Development

Ananth Kumar

- Chemicals and Fertilizers

Gopinathrao Munde

- Rural Development

- Panchayati Raj

- Drinking Water and Sanitation

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

- Food Processing Industries

Jual Oram

- Tribal Affairs

Radha Mohan Singh

- Agriculture

Narendra Singh Tomar

- Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment

Smriti Zubin Irani

- Human Resource Development

Ministers of State

Dharmendra Pradhan

- Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)

General VK Singh

- Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge)

- External Affairs

- Overseas Indian Affairs

Inderjit Singh Rao

- Planning (Independent Charge)

- Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge)

- Defence

Santosh Kumar Gangwar

- Textiles (Independent Charge)

- Parliamentary Affairs

- Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Shripad Yesso Naik

- Culture (Independent Charge)

- Tourism (Independent Charge)

Dharmendra Pradhan

- Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)

Sarbananda Sonowal

- Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and - Sports (Independent Charge)

Prakash Javadekar

- Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge)

- Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge)

- Parliamentary Affairs

Piyush Goyal

- Power (Independent Charge)

- Coal (Independent Charge)

- New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)

Jitendra Singh

- Science and Technology (Independent Charge)

- Earth Sciences (Independent Charge)

- Prime Minister's Office

- Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

- Department of Atomic Energy

- Department of Space

Nirmala Sitharaman

- Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge)

- Finance

- Corporate Affairs

G.M. Siddeshwara

- Civil Aviation

Manoj Sinha

- Railways

Nihalchand

- Chemicals and Fertilizers

Upendra Kushwaha

- Rural Development

- Panchayati Raj

- Drinking Water and Sanitation

Radhakrishnan P

- Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

Kiren Rijiju

- Home Affairs

Krishan Pal

- Road Transport and Highways

- Shipping

Sanjeev Kumar Balyan

- Agriculture

- Food Processing Industries

Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava

- Tribal Affairs

Raosaheb Dadarao Danve

- Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

Vishnu Deo Sai

- Mines

- Steel

- Labour and Employment

Sudarshan Bhagat

- Social Justice and Empowerment

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Narendra Modi's government takes baby steps for Ganga clean up

River Ganga is all set for a makeover.

The Centre wants to develop the river as a tourism destination, as a means of transport, fisheries hub and for power generation. And Narendra Modi, within a fortnight of taking over as Prime Minister, has set the ball rolling to change the polluted river into a world-class tourism and infrastructure hub.

Ganga is the lifeline for a huge chunk of population, starting from its point of origination in Gangotri, Uttarakhand to West Bengal wherein it empties in the Bay of Bengal. During this journey of around 2,500 kilometers, industrial waste, sewerage, human and cattle carcases and a lot of other untreated waste and chemicals are dumped into river.

During his election campaign, Modi had promised to take measures to clean up the river. The quick movement on the issue indicates the seriousness that the government is attaching to the issue. The first step on the river's clean-up and development came on Friday afternoon when an inter-ministerial group chaired by transport minister Nitin Gadkari met. The meeting was attended by Union minister for water resources, river development and ganga rejuvenation Uma Bharti, environment & forest minister Prakash Javadekar and tourism minister Shripada Yasso Naik. Besides, the department dealing with river conservation is also expected to move soon to Uma Bharti's ministry for better coordination.

The panel formed an inter-ministerial committee of secretaries. In a month, this committee will submit a report offering a comprehensive road map for the government to move ahead on the matter. Following the report, a cabinet note will be prepared to get the project off the ground, said Gadkari.

"We have decided to meet from time to time to take forward this issue, which is a top priority for the government and a subject included in our party-manifesto," said water resources minister Uma Bharti.
The learnings from the cleaning of the River Ganga will then be extended for the development of other rivers, said Bharti.

Detailing how the river will be used for transport, Gadkari said: "The river will be widened by 45 meters and deeper by 3 meters in the first phase to ferry passengers and goods between Varanasi and Hoogly.

Eleven terminals are proposed to be constructed along the Ganga's banks."

Barrages are proposed at every 100 kms on the river. "Facilities for transport of coal, fertiliser and foodgrain on the river will also be developed (as it is very cost effective). A research institute on the Ganga is also proposed to be set up under the HRD ministry, possibly at Roorkee," said Gadkari.

Environment ministry, on the other hand, will work on solutions to make the river pristine by taking various measures at Kanpur and other places.

As per a parliamentary committee report in 2012, (starting from the eight five-year plan onwards, Rs 39,225.95 crore has been allotted for the Ganga Action Plan-II to clean the river under various schemes, but pollution in the river continues to increase.

Narendra Modi's top 10 to-do list as PM of India

India's most ambitious indirect tax reform would replace existing state and federal levies with a uniform tax, boosting revenue collection while cutting business transaction costs. GST, which could boost India's economy by up to two percentage points, has so far faced resistance from various states, including those governed by the BJP who fear a loss of their fiscal powers. The BJP aims to address state concerns and implement GST in an "appropriate timeframe". The Congress party would back the reform in opposition, a senior party member told Reuters earlier this month. The reform needs broad backing because it requires a change in the constitution.

2) RESERVE BANK OF INDIA A Reserve Bank of India panel in January proposed key changes including targeting consumer price inflation and making a committee responsible for monetary policy, and not the RBI governor alone. This would require changes to the RBI Act. The BJP top brass has not spoken widely on the issue, but it will likely be a tough sell for RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. He has the backing of some global agencies like the International Monetary Fund. Modi's government may also look to eventually separate the debt management function from the RBI, on the gounds that debt management sometimes conflicts with the central bank's monetary policy stance.

3) PRIVATISATION The new government is likely to focus on selling its holdings in state-run firms that could raise much-needed revenues to trim India's ballooning fiscal deficit and boost economic growth. The rising stock market helped New Delhi raise more than $3 billion via stake sales in the fiscal year to March 31 - but that was only a third of the government's original target. The outgoing government announced plans to raise 569 billion rupees ($9.62 billion) through asset sales in 2014/15. This could help achieve a lower fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP. These estimates may be revised by the next government.

4) SUBSIDIES Modi's government needs to examine how it subsidises basic commodities if it is to contain the fiscal deficit and avoid a ratings downgrade. Subsidies cost an estimated 2.2 percent of India's GDP in 2013-14. The BJP in its manifesto said it will seek greater fiscal discipline without compromising on the availability of funds for development.

5) LABOUR The BJP wants to reform labour laws to boost job-intensive manufacturing and create as many as 10 million jobs a year for young Indians entering the workforce. Changing the law would be politically tricky, though, and Modi may seek to encourage competition between India's states to boost job creation.

 6) DEFENCE More foreign investment in defence would help India reduce imports, modernise weapons systems and speed up deliveries of hardware it needs for operations and training. India, the world's biggest arms importer, now allows 26 percent foreign ownership in defence, and proposals to exceed that limit are considered only for state-of-the-art technology. The BJP has said it would allow some greater foreign investment in defence industries.

 7) INSURANCE Attempts to raise the cap on foreign investment in India's $45 billion insurance sector, to 49 percent from 26 percent, have met resistance from employees at state-controlled insurers and their political backers. A BJP leader said in March the party had held talks with Congress to break the deadlock.

8) BANKING The next government will need to help state-run lenders battling rising bad loans caused by the slowing economy, rising interest rates and project delays. Stressed loans in India - either bad and restructured - total $100 billion, or about 10 percent of all loans. Fitch Ratings expects that ratio to reach 14 percent by March 2015. Rising bad loans threaten to choke the gradual recovery in Asia's third-largest economy, according to the OECD. The interim budget in February set aside 112 billion rupees ($1.89 billion) to help the sector meet key capital ratios, but analysts say more money is needed.

9) POWER A BJP-led government may implement the so-called Gujarat model of distributing electricity that has been widely praised for delivering reliable 24-hour power supplies in the state. Modi provided different power feeds to farmers, households, and companies instead of a uniform feed in his home state.

10) GAS PRICING In January India notified the new gas pricing formula that could double the prices of locally produced gas from April 1, but the poll regulator stopped the government from raising the prices until the elections are over.Reliance Industries and its partners BP and Niko Resources last week issued a notice of arbitration to the government seeking implementation of higher gas prices. The BJP-led government may review the formula on the lines suggested by a senior party leader last year and announce the date of implementation of new prices

Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/politics/narendra-modis-top-10-to-do-list-as-pmindia_1087318.html?utm_source=ref_article

Speech

Translated excerpts of Narendra Modi’s speech, delivered extempore in Hindi, at the Central Hall of Parliament on May 20, 2014:

Respected Advaniji, our national president Rajnathji and all Chief Ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party and newly elected members, I am grateful to all of you for having unanimously given me a new responsibility. I am thankful and grateful, particularly to Advaniji and Rajnathji as they have given me blessings.

I was thinking of Atalji’s health. Had his health been good, he would have been with us today and his presence would have completed this moment. His blessings are with us and will be with us in future.

We are here in the temple of democracy. We will work with all purity... not for the post but the people of the country. Work and responsibility are the biggest things. I accept the responsibility you have reposed in me.

For me post is not important, I have not considered that post is important in life but in my view responsibility is the bigger thing.

We will have to dedicate ourselves to fulfill this responsibility. In last September 13, 2013, the BJP parliamentary board gave a responsibility to me and from September 15, I started my work and with full sense of responsibility of a worker. The parishram yagya, which I began at that time and when the campaigning ended on May 10, 2014, I rang up my president and wanted to meet him before going to Ahmedabad. He asked if I was not tired and needed a break but I insisted on reporting to him as the responsibility given to me had been completed on May 10.

And like a disciplined solider I reported to my president that from September 13 to May 10, I have tried to fulfill my responsibility to the best of my ability. In this campaign, I had to cancel only one event and that too in Ghosi where our district president had died suddenly.

And I told him that as a loyal and committed worker, I am reporting to you on this sacred land. Whatever was given to me, I have tried to do and fulfill the role of a party worker.

After I became Chief Minister, I saw Chief Minister’s chamber for the first time. Today also it is the same situation as I have come to this historic Central Hall for the first time.

I salute all freedom fighters and also salute makers of the Constitution of our country as because of them, the world is witnessing the power of democracy. When global leaders called me, I told them about millions of voters of India. They were surprised. It is the power of our Constitution that a poor person belonging to a poor and deprived family is standing here today. This is the power of our Constitution and hallmark of our democratic elections that a common citizen can also reach this height. The BJP’s victory and somebody else’s loss is a point for debate later. Citizens have realised that this democratic setup can fulfill their aspirations. Their faith in democracy has strengthened further.

A government is a one which thinks about the poor, listens to the poor and which exists for the poor. Therefore, the new government is dedicated to the poor, millions of youth and mothers and daughters who are striving for their respect and honour. Villagers, farmers, Dalits and the oppressed, this government is for them, for their aspirations and this is our responsibility. And this is our responsibility. I have seen new facets

of our country in my campaign. I have seen people who had only one piece of clothing on their body but had the BJP’s flag. This section is looking at us with hope and aspirations. And therefore, our dream is to fulfill their dreams.

Advaniji has used, I would urge Advaniji not to use that word. He said that Narendra Bhai has done himkripa.

(Breaks down and there is a pause for a few moments)

Please don’t use this word. Can a son ever do his mother kripa? It can never be. Like India is my mother, the same way the BJP is also my mother. And therefore, a son can never do kripa, he can only dedicatedly serve his mother. Kripa is by the party, it has done me the favour of giving me an opportunity to serve it.

Various governments in the past tried to do some good work in their own way for which they deserve appreciation. Whatever good has happened, we will carry it forward. We will give something to the country. People should not become pessimistic. I have not seen television and media, everyone has been analysing this verdict… people have voted for hope. This verdict is of hope. I had said earlier that this election is of hope.

A new hope has arisen in the common man. This is the biggest significance of this election results.

But by giving the BJP an absolute majority they have voted for hope and trust. People have voted for hope and faith and I will do everything to fulfill their aspirations. There should be no room for pessimism and because with pessimism nothing can be achieved. The government’s motto will be to be with everyone and for everyone’s development. This is the time for new hope and strength.

An era of responsibility has begun. In 2019, I will meet the MPs again with a report card. My government is not for myself but for the country. The government is for the poor and we want to do something for them.

I will strive my best to fulfill the responsibility you have reposed in me. You will never have to look down on the work it will do.

We were not fortunate to have died for the country, but for every citizen born in independent India, he should dedicate himself to live for the country. Every moment of our lives and every speck of our body should be dedicated to 125 crore people of this country, we have to carry this dream. The country will then progress rapidly.

I am by nature an optimist. It is written in my DNA. Disappointment does not just gel with me. On this occasion, I wish to repeat what I had said in my speech in a college here. Just see this glass of water, some say that it is half filled with water and some say it is half empty. My thinking is of third type. I say this glass is half filled with water and half with air. You may be seeing it half empty but I don’t see it that way. That’s why I say that I am by nature an optimist. And for traversing a constructive path, it is important and essential to be an optimist. Only an optimistic person can bring and instill hope in the country. Pessimistic persons can never give hope to the country. Adverse times and hardships do come in everybody’s life. In 2001 when earthquake struck Gujarat, we were all stricken by death and there was destruction everywhere. Everyone the world over thought it was all over. But in no time, Gujarat once again stood up on its feet. We will have to leave pessimism behind. Who says that such an aware democratic country — the largest in the world cannot move forward? If 125 crore Indians resolve to take one step forward, the entire country will travel 125 crore steps forward.

Which is the other country in the world which has six seasons? This land of ours is blessed, our land is fertile, full of natural resources. People from our country go abroad and earn name and fame, we only have to give opportunity to them here.

In this election, we stressed on two things — sabka saath, sabka vikas. We want everyone’s progress and development but it is as important that we take everybody along with us. This election symbolised new hope, I have such able colleagues with me and with guidance from my senior leaders, I have full faith that the responsibility which was given to me on September 13, 2013 and which was completed on May 16, 2014 and with the new responsibility given to me today, I assure you that when we meet in 2019, I will place before you my report card. I will try and achieve the pinnacle of perseverance and hard work.

The coming year 2015-16 is important to us all, it will be Pandit Deendayal Updhyaya’s centenary year,chairaveti, chairevetimantra was given by him and this led to establishing a system of sacrifice and hard work. We have to think about how to fulfill his dreams and work and strive to fulfill them. Party and the government should also think about this as to how to celebrate this coming event. Antyodaya, the service of the downtrodden, that is what Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya had stressed. That is why I say that this government is for the poor and deprived. In global perspective also, this election of India and its results are being viewed in a very constructive and positive manner. And the first message that goes out to the world is that it is not important that millions of people have made some party victorious or made someone a prime minister. But it is important that millions have given a good mandate and have held India’s position high in the world that is the message of these elections. Who won and who lost is not important. These are the results which will attract the world to India and to its democratic traditions, and capabilities. Hope has been kindled in a common citizen of India and the same hope has arisen in humanitarian forces in the world. This is a very good sign.

Brothers and sisters, once again I express my gratitude to millions of workers who have toiled hard for this victory. Modi which is before you and which you can see is because Modi is hoisted by senior leaders of my party on their shoulders. Whatever we have achieved today, is because of sacrifices made by past five generations. Jan Sangh was not known to the people, some thought it is a social, cultural organisation. Today, I salute all those generations who made sacrifices for nationalist causes. We should not forget that we are here today because of sacrifices made by the past generations. This victory is of millions of our workers. If we think like this, there will not be any opportunity for our society and party to have any complaints. BJP is the party which relies on its strong organisation, that is our strength and none of us is either away or above the organisation.

You have given me this new responsibility, Advaniji has given me blessings. You have reposed faith in me and have expectations from me and I assure you that you will not have any occasion of feeling let down. Once again, I thank you all.

Narendra Modi MP
15th Prime Minister of India[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 May 2014
President	Pranab Mukherjee
Preceded by	Manmohan Singh
14th Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office 7 October 2001 – 22 May 2014
Governor	Sunder Singh Bhandari Kailashpati Mishra Balram Jakhar Nawal Kishore Sharma S. C. Jamir Kamla Beniwal
Preceded by	Keshubhai Patel
Succeeded by	Anandiben Patel
Member of Parliament for Varanasi
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 May 2014
Preceded by	Murli Manohar Joshi
Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly for Maninagar
In office 2002 – 16 May 2014
Preceded by	Kamlesh Patel
Personal details
Born	Narendra Damodardas Modi 17 September 1950 (age 63) Vadnagar, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Jashodaben Chimanlal (Child marriage; estranged)
Residence	7, Race Course Road
Alma mater	University of Delhi Gujarat University
Religion	Hinduism
Signature

The Man of the Moment - Narendra Modi

If an individual's political fortunes can be divined from the number of books being written about him, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is way ahead of his rivals.

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party holds up a cutout of the party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during an election campaign rally in Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh. (AP Photo)

While Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times, The NaMo Story: A Political Life by Kingshuk Nag, and The Man of the Moment – Narendra Modi by MV Kamath and Kalindi Randeri were published last year, Andy Marino's 'Narendra Modi: A Political Biography' appeared in bookstores a few weeks ago, after Madhu Kishwar's Modi, Muslims and Media.

Sudesh Verma's Narendra Modi – The Gamechanger focusses on the man, while others like 'Modi Leadership, Governance and Performance' by Vivian Fernandes, Bibek Debroy's Gujarat-Governance for Growth and Development, and Centrestage: Inside the Modi Model of Governance by Uday Mahurkar look at the Gujarat Model, Modi's style of governance and its impact on the state.

Read: Missing the man: a political biography of Narendra Modi

Younger readers haven't been left out either.

'Bal Narendra - Childhood Stories of Narendra Modi' features tales of the BJP PM candidate's bravery as a child much in the vein of popular animated series like Bal Hanuman and Bal Ganesh.

Then there is Siddharth Mazumdar's Moditva, The Idea Behind The Man, a collection of essays inspired by Modi's statements over the years. Reports suggest that a book of collected tweets and a graphic biography, 'Narendra Modi: The Icon of Development' will also soon appear.

Besides these books about Modi, there are those he has authored himself, including a collection of short stories entitled Abode of Love and a book of poems called A Journey. Modi has also written the foreword to The Idea of One Religion whose cover features sketches of him alongside Swami Vivekananda.

Manoj Mitta's The Fiction of Fact-Finding: Modi & Godhra, which criticises the investigation of Gujarat 2002 and the SIT's exoneration of the Gujarat CM, is one of the few dissonant voices making themselves heard above the roar of adulation.

The Modi wave has meant that publishers have rushed to bring out books about every aspect of the man right through the election season. However, the No 1 national bestseller this week continues to be The Accidental Prime Minister, Sanjaya Baru's book on Manmohan Singh – the man Narendra Modi hopes to replace.