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PM Narendra Modi’s Swearing In and the New Cabinet

Narendra Modi Swearing-In Ceremony
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the newly appointed Cabinet

BJP leader Narendra Modi took the Prime Ministerial oath for the second time on Thursday; he was accompanied by 57 Ministers

PM Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term in office on Thursday. A 57-Minister strong cadre took oath with him.

The Prime Ministerial oath was administered by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.  

The Bharatiya Janata Party secured an absolute majority with 303 Lok Sabha seats. The party, however, has decided to share the Union Ministries with its allies.

Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj requested exemption due to health reasons.

Of the 57 Minister, 24 assumed office as Cabinet Ministers. While 9 were appointed as Union Ministers of State (independent charge), 24 assumed office as Ministers of State.

Former Home Minister and veteran BJP leader, Rajnath Singh took oath right after the Prime Minister. This reasserted his significance in the new Cabinet.

Third in line was former BJP President, Amit Shah. Joining PM Modi’s cabinet, he will now be moving from the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha.

Former Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman was the first woman to be sworn in to PM Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.

Former Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal was also sworn in as a Cabinet Minister. Chartered accountant by education, Goyal is touted to be the next Finance Minister.

In absence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Goyal presented the 2019-20 interim budget.

The first non-BJP leader to take oath was Lok Janshakti Party member, Ram Vilas Paswan. He was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister.

Ram Vilas Paswan was the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the previous government.

Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Arjun Munda was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister for the first time on Thursday.

The second female Cabinet Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a non-BJP Minister. She is a member of BJP’s oldest ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Former Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani was re-appointed to the Cabinet. Having defeated INC President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, she was the third woman to take oath.

Amongst the 57 Ministers, who took oath on Thursday, six were women.

Union Ministers in the previous government, Nitin Gadkari and Ravi Shankar Prasad returned to the Cabinet.

With a total of 8000 guests, the swearing in ceremony was attended by accomplished persons from all walks of life.

These included world leaders from 14 nations, Indian political leaders, Industrialists, sports personalities, and members of the Indian film industry.