Modi govt 2.0 LIVE: 'EC must clear doubts on EVM-VVPAT system'

The Government has not invited the chief of Tibetan Government in Exile, Lobsang Sangay, to witness Narendra Modi being sworn-in for his second term in office of Prime Minister on Thursday – ostensibly to avoid irking Beijing and derailing efforts to mend India-China relations.

. In handing over a landslide victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, voters chose to weigh lightly the economic hardships of the last five years, many of which did result directly from the policy decisions taken by his first government.

Voters did not judge Mr. Modi for his record on the economy, but will his second government show more appetite for reforms necessary for the material progress of his voters?

More than anything else the answer depends on Mr. Modi’s interpretation of the mandate he has received.

. Ahead of being sworn in as the prime minister for the second consecutive term, Narendra Modi on Thursday morning paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and BJP veteran late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

. A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes oath for a second term in office, outgoing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the new Cabinet citing ill health,while uncertainty hung over the continuance of another key minister Sushma Swaraj who did not contest Lok Sabha elections this time.

. A multi-layered security arrangement will be in place in the city on Thursday, with deployment of around 10,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces on account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony which will attended by foreign dignitaries and chief ministers and governors of several states among others. -- PTI

. "Over 10,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed on account of the swearing-in-ceremony," a senior police official told PTI.

. A traffic advisory issued a day ahead of the ceremony said several roads in New Delhi district will be closed for movement of public between 4 PM to 9 PM on Thursday and motorists and public were asked to avoid them.

The advisory further said roads including Rajpath - from Vijay Chowk to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vijay Chowk and adjoining areas including North and South fountain, South Avenue, North Avenue, Dara-Shikoh Road and Church Road will be closed for public between 4 PM and 9 PM.

. Traffic signages have been provided for the information of invitees and public. All motorists are advised to follow the directions of the traffic police on duty, the advisory added.

.Modi and BJP president Amit Shah held a marathon meeting for the second consecutive day on Wednesday during which they are learnt to have finalised the broad contours the new ministry that is expected to have some new faces besides retaining most of the senior ministers, according to a report in PTI.Though there is an intense buzz that Shah, credited for crafting the political strategy for the BJP, may be part of the new government and be given a plum portfolio, there was no clarity yet on him making a ministerial debut at the Centre. There was also speculation that Shah might continue as BJP chief since Assembly elections in some key states are due to be held in the next one year. Many BJP leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous Cabinet could be retained.. Senior members like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prakash Javadekar are likely to retain their place. Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in his home turf of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to earn the tag of giant killer, is expected to get a key portfolio. -- PTI

. BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give final touches to the list of ministers to be sworn in.This was Shah's third meeting in three days with Modi to finalise the list. The swearing in will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 PM on Thursday.

. A day ahead of swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a one-to-one meeting with BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi.Though there has been no official communication about who all are likely to join the Modi ministry, sources within the ruling camp said that JD (U) may get one Cabinet berth, besides two MoS portfolio.

. The event will take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 pm. The oath-taking ceremony will be administered by President Ram Nath Kovind.

This will be the fourth time that a Prime Minister takes oath at theRashtrapati Bhavan's forecourt -theT-shaped path that leads to the main building from the main gate.

The ceremony, traditionally, takes place at Durbar Hall. The first prime minister to be administered the oath of office here was Chandra Shekhar in 1990. Atal Bihari Vajpayee also took oath here in 1998.

Modi was sworn in as PM in May 2014 at the forecourt with heads of state from SAARC nations in attendance in a ceremony attended by nearly 5,000 guests.

. From political leaders to sportspersons and film stars, arecord number of 6,000 guests are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi.

Heads of state of 14 nations, ambassadors of various nations, public intellectuals, political activists, film stars and celebrities will attend the ceremony. Heads of national and regional parties have been invited, asare key senior politicians.

Leaders of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan,have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony.

. Rashtrapati Bhavan will serve a light dinner for the visiting dignitaries besides high tea after the 7 pm ceremony, according to reports.

While the high tea will serve vegetarian fare ranging from samosas to Rajbhog and lemon tarts, the dinner will include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare.

The President’s kitchen has taken into consideration that many visiting dignitaries are from countries to India’s east whose cuisine is usually not very rich or heavy, and the timing of the event will make it rather a late meal for them when compared to their local time.

The signature ‘Dal Raisina’, which will the highlight of the dinner, is already being cooked. The cookingof this speciality of Rashtrapati Bhavan takes 48 hours and the process started on Tuesday night.

. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday, an official at the Chief Minister's Office said.

. D V Sadananda Gowda receives call from BJP president Amit Shah and will be sworn in as Cabinet Minister. Gowda was Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation in the outgoing government.

. In the first session, the newly elected MPs will take their oaths, the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha will be elected, and the President will address a joint sitting of Parliament.

. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Jayant Sinha, Giriraj Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Thawarchand Gehlot, Dilip Ghosh, Jitendra Singh and Purshottam Rupala are also tipped to get ministerial berths. --PTI

. The Bharatiya Janta Party has emerged as the single largest party and the leader of the party will be sworn-in as the Prime Minister. As per Article 75(1) of the Constitution, the other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The 91stAmendment to the Constitution limits the total size of the Council of Ministers to15% of the total strength of the House (i.e., 81 Ministers).

. Four MPs from Karnataka including Ministers in the outgoing cabinet D V Sadananda Gowda and Nirmala Sitharaman will be sworn in as Union Ministers on Thursday.

. With the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Polls announced on May 23rd, the incumbent Lok Sabha was dissolved to make way for its successor.On Thursday, May 30, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister-elect, will be taking oath in the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with his Council of Ministers to form the 17th Lok Sabha. Here's what to expect in the first session.

. Ministers selected for oath of office will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 4.30 on Thursday, shortly before the swearing-in ceremony, sources said.

. Several VIPs are among those from Karnataka who have received a personalized invitation from the Prime Minister’s Office to attend Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday evening.

. Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani are likely to be retained in Narendra Modi's second government that will be sworn in on Thursday evening.

. Recalling the Nation's notable swearing-in ceremonies

. BIMSTEC leaders, including SriLankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering arrived here on Thursday to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.

. The A-listers of the Indian film industry such as Karan Johar, Rajinikanth, Boney Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut are expected to attend Prime Minister NarendraModi's swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.

Sidharth Roy Kapur, President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, and actor Shahid Kapoor confirmed to PTI that they will be present for the event.

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor said he feels "happy and fortunate" to be a part of the ceremony.

"The kind of victory they have had, It is almost like a celebration. It is celebration of democracy. Something good has happened and it will continue to happen," Kapoor told PTI.

Before she flew in from Mumbai, Ranaut told reporters she wishedModiall the best for his future endeavours.

"The PM has set some goals and we all heard that in his speech. All our best wishes with him, that he is able to do what is best for the country and be able to fulfil all his goals. He is an extremely loved Prime Minister. He is here because of his hard work, we all can only appreciate him," she said.

Last year, the prime minister twice met a Bollywood delegation to discuss ways the entertainment industry can contribute towards nation building.

Producer Mahavir Jain, one of the organisers behind the two meetings, told PTI that the likes of Rajkumar Hirani, Rajinikanth, Aanand L Rai, Karan Johar, Sushant Singh Rajput, Divya Khosla Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Mangesh Hadawale and Abhishek Kapoor are attending the ceremony.

"It is an honour to be part of the swearing in ceremony. We are with the vision of our PM in nation building and it would be a privilege to contribute in our own way," he added.

. All you should know

. BJP president Amit Shah and senior leaders Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad are set to be sworn in as Cabinet ministers along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening.

. In dramatic developments, the JD(U) on Thursday refused to be part of the Narendra Modi government saying the BJP's offer of just one Cabinet post was unacceptable to them.

. LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, members of BJP"s Margdarshak Mandal, who were denied Lok Sabha tickets in 2019 attend the swearing in.

. Audience break into chants of 'Modi, Modi' and Bharat Mata Ki Jai as Modi walks in

. "Congratulations to PM @narendramodi and his new Cabinet Ministers. We wish them the best & look forward to working with them on the growth & development of India & all its citizens," INCIndia tweeted.

. Prime Minister : Narendra Modi

Cabinet Ministers Raj Nath Singh Amit Shah Nitin Jairam Gadkari D. V. Sadananda Gowda Nirmala Sitharaman Ramvilas Paswan Narendra Singh Tomar Ravi Shankar Prasad Harsimrat Kaur Badal Thaawar Chand Gehlot Dr. S Jaishankar Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Arjun Munda Smriti Zubin Irani Dr. Harsh Vardhan Prakash Javadekar Piyush Goyal Dharmendra Pradhan Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Pralhad Joshi Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey Arvind Ganpat Sawant Giriraj Singh Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

Santosh Kumar Gangwar Rao Inderjit Singh Shripad Yesso Naik Dr. Jitendra Singh Kiren Rijiju Prahlad Singh Patel Raj Kumar Singh Hardeep Singh Puri Mansukh L. Mandaviya

Ministers of State

Faggansingh Kulaste Ashwini Kumar Choubey Arjun Ram Meghwal General (Retd.) V. K. Singh Krishan Pal Danve Raosaheb Dadarao G Kishan Reddy Parshottam Rupala Ramdas Athawale Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Babul Supriyo Sanjeev Kumar Balyan Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao Anurag Singh Thakur Angadi Suresh Channabasappa Nityanand Rai Rattan Lal Kataria V Muraleedharan Renuka Singh Saruta Som Parkash Rameswar Teli Pratap Chandra Sarangi Kailash Choudhary

Debashree Chowdhury

. Narendra Modi on Thursday started his second innings as India's Prime Minister along with 57 other ministers at a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan that signalled BJP president Amit Shah's ascendancy as his heir apparent.

. Two MPs from Punjab, including one of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and another three MPs from neighbouring Haryana form a part of the Narendra Modi cabinet sworn-in on Thursday.

. Ravi Shankar Prasadbegan his political career byparticipating inthe anti-emergency movement in the 1970s for which he was jailed.Since 1995 hehas been a member of BJP National Executive, the party's top policymaking body.

He became MP and Coal Minister in the first NDA government in 2001, minister of Law and Justice in July 2002 and then Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 2003. In 2006, he went on to become BJP’s national spokesperson and then the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha in 2012.

After Narendra Modi's ascension to power in 2014, hewas made a cabinet minister with important portfolios like Law and Justice and Electronics and IT.Prasad, who has served four terms in the Rajya Sabha, contested in his first Lok Sabha election in 2019 against actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha at the Patna Sahib seat which was formerly a stronghold of Sinha. However, Prasad defeated him by a margin of over six lakh votes.

Also a lawyer by profession, he was themain lawyer who argued the PIL against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam. He was also the lawyer in the Ayodhya Ram temple case representing 'Ram Lalla', the deity.

. A former investment banker, Piyush Goyal's initiation into politics was as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Like his father Ved Prakash Goyal, he has alsoserved as the national treasurer for the BJP.

He first came to prominence as a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra when Nitin Gadkari became national president of BJP in 2010.He held various positions in the party and was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's core team which oversaw his winning campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Following BJP and Modi's mammoth victory in the 2014 elections, Piyush Goyal was instated as the minister of coal and energy. He was much praised for his work in giving shape to Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme meant for taking electricity to every household. The scheme cut LED bulb prices to ₹38 apiece from around ₹310 in 2014. It provided impetus toIndia’s efforts to cut energy and assisted to shatter dubiousness over the country’s ability to run the world’s largest energy efficiency programme. After Suresh Prabhu was shifted to the commerce ministry, he was given the responsibility of the railways.

He also presented Narendra Modi government's last budget in the absence of finance minister Arun Jaitley, where he announced 1) individual taxpayers with annual income up to Rs. 5 lakh will get full tax rebate 2)Within the next two years, assessment of all tax returns should be done electronically 3)The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana 4) Increase in Gratuity Limit 5)Pension scheme for unorganised sector workers.

. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is an MP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

In 2019 General Election, he won against Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Rajasthan CM, Ashok Gehlot.

In 16th Lok Sabha election, he held the post of the Union minister of state for agriculture in September 2017.

Shekhawat's political career started in 1992, when he became the president of the student union of Jai Narayan Vyas University-Jodhpur. He was active in social works and youth awareness activities.

He started his Lok Sabha journey as a member of Standing Committee on Finance in 2014.

From 27 July 2016 onwards he was also Member, All India Council of Sports (AICS), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India.

He as a co-convenor organized Swadeshi Mela in Jodhpur under the umbrella of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch from 2002 to 2006. It was a successful event having approximately 10 lakh people coming to this event. This encouraged the selling of lots of Swadeshi goods and was appreciated by senior BJP leaders.

The President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the Members of the Council of Ministers. Here’s a quick lowdown at the new Modi Cabinet.

. Giriraj Singh is an MP from Begusarai, Bihar. He won 17th Lok Sabha election against Kanhaiya Kumar.

In 16th Lok Sabha election, he won from Nawada district of Bihar and was Minister of State (Independent charge) for micro, small and medium enterprises but has been elevated to Cabinet Minister in the second term of Modi.

He is popular for his controversial remarks mostly against Muslims.

He was an MLC in Bihar government in 2002. Later, he was appointed as the cooperative minister in Government of Bihar between 2008 and 2010. In 2010, held Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Resource Development in the Bihar govt.

The President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the Members of the Council of Ministers. Here’s a quick lowdown at the new Modi Cabinet.

. Arvind Ganpat Sawant won 2019 Lok Sabha Election from Mumbai South and is a part of Modi's 2019 cabinet ministry.

He is from Shiv Sena, an ally of BJP in 2019 and a part of NDA.

In the 16th Lok Sabha, he was a member of the Estimates Committee, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. But he has got a portfolio of Cabinet Minister for the first time.

He won 17th Lok Sabha election by 52 per cent vote against Deora Milind Murli of Congress.

The President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the Members of the Council of Ministers. Here’s a quick lowdown at the new Modi Cabinet.

. Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey is has been appointed as the cabinet minister of Narendra Modi's second term in Lok Sabha. Born in Uttar Pradesh, Pandey contested from Chandauli and got 47 % of the vote share against Sanjay Singh Chauhan of Samajwadi Party.

Dr Mahendra Nath is a master's in journalism and has got a doctorate in Hindi from Benaras Hindu University.

During Emergency, Pandey spent five months in jail, after which he joined RSS in 1978.

He has been charged under the National Security Act during Ram Janmbhoomi movement by the Mulayam Singh government of UP.

He was a Member of Legislative Assembly in 1991 and 1996 UP elections and also held the post in State Ministry between 1998 to 2000 and 2000 to 2002.

Pandey won from Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh in 2014 as well and got MoS in the Human Resource Development in the Narendra Modi government during the major cabinet reshuffle of 2016.

The President appointed Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the Members of the Council of Ministers. Here’s a quick lowdown at the new Modi Cabinet.

. Pralhad Joshi won General Election 2019 from Dharwad distict of Karnataka for fourth consecutive time.

He has been a member of Committe on chemical and fertilizers and a member of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

He has been associated with RSS from a young age. He was trained at RSS training camp and has been an RSS activist and leader.

He is a former General Secretary of BJP and also a former state President of BJP, Karnataka from 2014 to 2017.

Prahlad Joshi came into limelight in the movement driven bu Uma Bharti to hoist the national flag in Idgah maidan of Hubli. He was one of the leaders who accompanied her. The event led to the death of ten due to violence and police firing.

In 16th Lok Sabha, he was the part of the pool of MPs who chaired the house proceeding in the absence of Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker.

He won 2019 Lok Sabha election by 56 per cent of the vote share against the Vinay Kulkarni of Congress.

He is one of the MP with highest winning margin in Karnataka

. Actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003, and in 2004 she became the vice-president of the Maharashtra Youth wing. In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, she was defeated byKapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk constituency.

Despite the loss, she was nominated as an executive member of the party's central committee.

In December 2004, she blamed Narendra Modi who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister, for BJP's electoral losses and threatened to fast unto death until he resigned. However, she later retracted this demand after BJP's central leadership threatened to take action against her.

In 2010, she became the national secretary of the party and the All India President of the party's women's wing. In 2011, she became a member of the Rajya Sabha and in 2012, became the party's vice-president. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, she contested against Rahul Gandhi, in the latter's bastion Amethi at Uttar Pradesh.

She lost by a margin of 12.3% votes, and the uphill fight earned her a place in the cabinet as the Minister of Human Resource Development. On 2016, she was moved to the Textiles Ministry in PM Modi’s cabinet reshuffle and in 2017, she was handed the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India).

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, she again contested against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, only to win this time by a margin of 55,120 votes.

. Ravi Shankar Prasadbegan his political career byparticipating inthe anti-emergency movement in the 1970s for which he was jailed.Since 1995 hehas been a member of BJP National Executive, the party's top policymaking body.

He became MP and Coal Minister in the first NDA government in 2001, minister of Law and Justice in July 2002 and then Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 2003.

In 2006, he went on to become BJP’s national spokesperson and then the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha in 2012. After Narendra Modi's ascension to power in 2014, hewas made a cabinet minister with important portfolios like Law and Justice and Electronics and IT.

Prasad, who has served four terms in the Rajya Sabha, contested in his first Lok Sabha election in 2019 against actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha at the Patna Sahib seat which was formerly a stronghold of Sinha. However, Prasad defeated him by a margin of over six lakh votes.

Also a lawyer by profession, he was themain lawyer who argued the PIL against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam. He was also the lawyer in the Ayodhya Ram temple case representing 'Ram Lalla', the deity.

. A former investment banker, Piyush Goyal's initiation into politics was as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Like his father Ved Prakash Goyal, he has also served as the national treasurer for the BJP.

He first came to prominence as a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra when Nitin Gadkari became national president of BJP in 2010. He held various positions in the party and was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's core team which oversaw his winning campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Following BJP and Modi's mammoth victory in the 2014 elections, Piyush Goyal was instated as the minister of coal and energy. He was much praised for his work in giving shape to Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme meant for taking electricity to every household. The scheme cut LED bulb prices to ₹38 apiece from around ₹310 in 2014. It provided impetus to India’s efforts to cut energy and assisted to shatter dubiousness over the country’s ability to run the world’s largest energy efficiency programme. After Suresh Prabhu was shifted to the commerce ministry, he was given the responsibility of the railways.

He also presented Narendra Modi government's last budget in the absence of finance minister Arun Jaitley, where he announced 1) individual taxpayers with annual income up to Rs. 5 lakh will get full tax rebat 2) Within the next two years, assessment of all tax returns should be done electronically 3) The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana 4) Increase in Gratuity Limit 5) Pension scheme for unorganised sector workers.

. Narendra Singh Tomar, a three-time MP from Morena, Madhya Pradesh, has made into Cabinet Ministry for the second time.

Tomar's political career starts as the President of Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Forum (BJPYF), Gwalior in 1980.

He was also the State President of Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Forum (BJPYF), Madhya Pradesh from 1991-1996.

He later became the member of Madhya Pradesh's Legislative Assembly for two terms from 1998 to 2008.

He held cabinet ministry of Madhya Pradesh government between 2003 and 2007.

Tomar was also appointed as BJP state President and has been a member of Rajya Sabha for a brief time.

In 2014 he held several ministries including mines, steel, labour and employment and rural development and Panchayati Raj.

Tomar won 2019 General Election against Ramniwas Rawat of Congress.

. Diplomat turned corporate rank holder turned minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977 and served as third secretary and second secretary in the Indian mission to the Soviet Union in Moscow from 1979 to 1981. He was part of the team that resolved the dispute over the supply of US nuclear fuel to the Tarapur Power Stations. From 1985 to 1988 he was the first secretary at the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C.

He served in Sri Lanka as First Secretary and political adviser to the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) from 1988 to 1990. From 1990 to 1993, he was Counsellor (Commercial) at the Indian mission in Budapest.

He was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo from 1996 to 2000. Reportedly, he helped to introduce future Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh. In 2000, he was appointed India’s ambassador to the Czech Republic.

From 2004 to 2007, Jaishankar was the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He was involved in negotiating the US-India civil nuclear agreement and improving defence co-operation, the conclusion of the 2005 New Defense Framework and the Open Skies Agreement, and he was also associated with the launch of the US-India Energy Dialogue, the India-US Economic Dialogue, and the India-US CEO's Forum. In 2006–2007, Jaishankar led the Indian team during the negotiations on the 123 Agreement with the United States.

From 2007- 2009, he was India's High Commissioner to Singapore. He was also India's longest serving Ambassador to China, and in 2013 he was appointed as India's Ambassador to United States. he retired as Foreign Secretary in January 2018 and then joined Tata Sons as President, Global Corporate Affairs.

. The Dalit face of BJP. Thawar Chand Gehlot, represents the constituency of Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh.

He took an oath on Thursday as a cabinet minister of the new Modi government. In the previous cabinet, he held the position of Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.

He started his political journey at an early age, as a student leader. He worked for the social and economic backward class when he was an in-charge of the Schedule Caste Morcha of BJP.

He completed two terms as a member of Rajya Sabha in 2018.

As a minister, in the last cabinet, Gahlot initiated several schemes for the deprived sections of the society. He has contributed for the oppressed by writing for a journal called 'Vidhayani', which is published by the legislative assembly of Madhya Pradesh.

. A three-time parliamentarian from Bhatinda. Punjab, Harsimrat Kaur Badal sworn in as a cabinet minister late on Thursday. She was appointed as the Food Processing minister in the previous cabinet.

She is a member of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of the allies of BJP, SAD managed to win two seats from Punjab and the other was won by her husband Sukhbir Singh Badal. Badal, kick-started her political debut with 2009, contesting from Bhatinda against Raninder Singh.

Before becoming a politician, she started an NGO, 'Nanhi Jaan' with the aim to save girl child.

During her tenure as a food processing minister, Kaur had to deal with consumer safety after a controversy about Nestle Maggi Noddles broke out in 2015.

. A three times chief minister of Jharkhand, Arjun Munda, sworn in as one of the Cabinet Members on Thursday.

Interested in politics as a teenager, he was an active participant in various movements in Jharkhand, demanding a separate state for tribals in southern Bihar.

He voiced the problems of tribals and then went on to become a popular tribal face not only in Jharkhand but in the neighbouring states like Bihar, Chattisgarh as well.

Munda represents Khundi in the Lok Sabha. He won by a margin of 1,445 votes in the constituency against the Congress's Kalicharan Munda.

. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', who has been elected from the Haridwar parliamentary constituency for the second consecutive term, by winning the seat with 6 lakh votes, took an oath as a cabinet minister of the new Modi government on Thursday.

During his years, he was never given a ministerial berth at the Centre. He was the chief minister of Uttarakhand from 2009 to 2011.

During his tenure as a Minister of Culture and Religion of Uttar Pradesh, he organised various cultural activities worldwide.

The Poet-Politician is famous for his work in the literature, he has also authored various anthologies and novels. 'Samarpan' is one of his well-known books.

. Amit Shah was appointed the new Home Minister while Rajnath Singh has moved to the Defence Ministry.

The new Finance Minister is Nirmala Sitharaman while S Jaishankar, the former Foreign Secretary, has been named the External Affairs Minister.

. Jitendra Singh has been appointed as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO, Ministry of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; MoS in the Dept of Atomic Energy & MoS in Dept of Space.

. Giriraj Singh has been appointed as the Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. And Arvind Ganpat Sawant as the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise.

. General (Retd) VK Singh to be the MoS in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ramdas Athwale to be the MoS in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and Anurag Thakur to be the MoS in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

. Pratap Chandra Sarangi to be the MoS in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries. Babul Supriyo to be MoS in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

. The markets, which were factoring in for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah as the Finance Minister, were ina surprise as Nirmala Sitharaman was given the Finance portfolio.

. After working for the BJP from backstage for nearly nine years, nothing could have been as grandeur as becoming the Union Home Minister for Amit Shah, the closest lieutenant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nine years ago, he had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) when he was home minister in Gujarat government led by Modi as its chief minister.

. Kiren Rijiju, the three-time MP from Arunachal West constituency, was the minister of state for home in the first tenure of Narendra Modi government. Appreciated for his outright character and good oratory, Rijiju is considered one of the best performing leaders in the Northeast.

. Don't get disheartened by outcome of Lok Sabha elections, win and loss is part of politics, was NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's advice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

Sulking over the Congress debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul had shunned meetings with party leaders, but on Thursday evening reached out to Pawar and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

. Narendra Modi has announced his team members' assignments on Friday with a bit of surprise though he stuck to almost what it was in his previous government. BJP president Amit Shah's entry appears to have tilted the balance as Rajnath had to move to Defence while Nitin Gadkari or any other leader could not enter the Cabinet Council of Security.

. First decision of PM Narendra Modi on assuming his office is approval to a major change in the ‘Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme’ under the National Defence Fund.

Modi has approved the following changes: Rates of scholarship have been increased from Rs. 2000 per month to Rs. 2500 per month for boys and from Rs. 2250 per month to Rs. 3000 per month for girls. (ANI)

. Prime Minister has approved the following changes: Ambit of the Scholarship Scheme is extended to the wards of State Police officials who are/were martyred during terror/naxal attacks. The quota of new scholarships for wards of state police officials will be 500 in a year.

. India's economic growth rate slowed to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in January-March 2018-19, due to poor performance in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data released on Friday said.

. Cabinet has approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Yojana to all farmers. Nearly 14.5 crore farmers will benefit from the scheme:Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare.

Union Cabinet has approved a new Central Sector Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana. It's a voluntary & contributory pension scheme for small&marginal farmers across the country. Central Govt will contribute to the pension fund in equal amount as contributed by the farmer.

The scheme provides income support to small and marginal landholder farmer families with cultivable land holding up to 2 hectare, across the country, by way of Rs 6,000 per year. The ongoing scheme aims to cover around 12.5 crore SMF families.

. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint session of parliament on 20th June. Economic Survey will be released on 4th of July.

Union Cabinet has cleared pension scheme for traders. Three crore retail traders and shopkeepers will benefit from this decision.

Cabinet has cleared a special scheme for Control of Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis. The diseases of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis are very common among the livestock – cow-bulls, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs.

. In the first Cabinet meeting, the government, on Friday, decided to extend PM-KISAN scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country costing Rs 87,000 crore a yearand also announced over Rs 10,000 crore pension scheme for 5 crore farmers, thereby fulfilling the BJP's poll promise.

. BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday took charge as the Union Home Minister, two days after he was sworn-in following a landslide victory of the saffron party-led NDA.

Shah was received at the North Block office of the home ministry by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officials.

The home minister is also holding a meeting with the officials to familiarise with the issues concerning the ministry, an official said.

Two newly appointed Ministers of state for home - G K Reddy and Nityananda Rai - also took charge Saturday.

. Rajanth Singh on Saturday took charge as the defence minister and immediately held a meeting with the top military brass.

Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and top officials of the ministry accorded a warm welcome to Singh.

After taking charge, the former home minister held a meeting with Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and newly appointed Navy chief Karambir Singh.

The defence secretary and several other senior officials of the ministry were also present at the meeting.

. MoS (Home) G Kishan Reddy: There are places in the country where terror activities are on a rise. If an incident takes place in Bengaluru, Bhopal, its roots are traced to Hyderabad. State police, NIA have arrested terrorists in Hyderabad every 2-3 months. I didn't say anything wrong.

. Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said country's security and welfare of the people are the key priorities of the Modi government.

. Soon after taking charge as Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Saturday asked the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force to prepare separate presentations on the challenges and overall functioning of their respective forces.

. Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Saturday said there was no possibility of manipulating the EVM-VVPAT system, but the Election Commission should explain to the opposition and the people by clearing doubts about it.

. Navaratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd on Saturday asserted that electronic voting machines manufactured by it were "non-tamperable" and "not a single case of mismatch" between EVMs and VVPATs were reported in the Lok Sabha polls.

. A secret review is being conducted to ascertain the reasons that might have led to the defeat of Congress president Rahul Gandhi on his home turf of Amethi in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.

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