More Ministers take over

A number of Ministers took charge of their respective departments today with a vow to improve the functioning of their ministries and push growth in a transparent manner.

Those who assumed charge are Rajnath Singh as Home Minister, Nitin Gadkari as Road Transport & Highways Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju as Civil Aviation Minister, Prakash Javadekar as Environment Minister and Gen (retd) V K Singh as Minister for Development of North Eastern Region. Kiren Rijiju took charge as the Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Rajnath, the BJP President, paid floral tributes to the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at his statue near Parliament before taking up the new responsibility.

Gadkari, while taking over as Transport Minister, promised complete transparency and utilisation of Ganga's full potential by using it as a waterway from Gangotri to Kanpur and Kanpur to Patna to transport cargo and people.

Raju, who took over as Civil Aviation Minister, said he would strive to create a level-playing field for all players in the sector and make the aviation sector more people- oriented."

Javadekar, as Environment Minister, promised to ensure "fast clearances" to infrastructure projects in a transparent manner.

V K Singh said his top priority would be to enhance infrastructure, providing job opportunities to youths and boosting economic growth in the North Eastern states.