Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to commence his third consecutive term in office at 11:30 am, at his office in the South Block of Delhi. This follows yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony, during which he ushered in a 72-member Union Council of Ministers.
The newly sworn-in Prime Minister’s initial plans involve convening a Cabinet meeting. During this meeting, the Cabinet is anticipated to officially request President Droupadi Murmu to convene a parliamentary session.
This session will feature the President’s address to both houses, elucidating the government’s objectives and focal points for the forthcoming term. Additionally, the allocation of additional housing units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) housing scheme is slated to occur today.
At yesterday’s grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Murmu administered the oath of office PM Modi and his cabinet, which includes prominent BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar.
The Council of Ministers consists of 30 Cabinet Ministers, five Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 36 Ministers of State. Among the recent additions are three former chief ministers and Suresh Gopi, a former actor now turned politician, who is the BJP’s first Lok Sabha MP from Kerala.
“This team of ministers is a great blend of youth and experience; we will leave no stone unturned in improving people’s lives. I look forward to serving 140 crore Indians and working with the Council of Ministers to take India to new heights of progress,” PM Modi said in a post on X after the ceremony.
एनडीए सरकार में मंत्री के रूप में शपथ लेने वाले सभी साथियों को बहुत-बहुत बधाई और शुभकामनाएं। मंत्रियों की इस टीम में युवा जोश और अनुभव का अद्भुत संगम है। हम सभी देशवासियों का जीवन बेहतर बनाने में कोई कोर-कसर बाकी नहीं रखेंगे। pic.twitter.com/vLcufkcOf1
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 9, 2024
The inaugural gathering of the new cabinet is scheduled for this evening at the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. Following this, the distribution of ministerial responsibilities is expected to follow shortly.
In this freshly formed cabinet, considerable emphasis has been placed on states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with Bihar securing four cabinet seats and Uttar Pradesh obtaining nine ministerial roles. Among the ministers, forty-two hail from the Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC), and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. Notably, there is no representation from the Muslim community in the new cabinet.