Piyush Goyal given additional charge of Finance Ministry

In a major Cabinet reshuffle late Monday evening, Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal was given additional charge of the Finance Ministry until incumbent Arun Jaitley recovers from a Kidney transplant surgery.

53-year-old Goyal's elevation was announced on a day when Jaitley went under the knife. Goyal is a member of Rajya Sabha. He was earlier the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy from 2014 to 17. Goyal also held the mines portfolio briefly in 2016-2017.

The first time minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government that came to power in 2014, Goyal's tenure has seen transformational changes in the country's power sector including the fast-tracking of electrification of the nearly 18,000 un-electrified villages.

Goyal is responsible for the rollout of a comprehensive power sector reform. In his political career spanning over 33 years, Goyal has held several important positions at different levels in BJP, including that of the national treasurer of the party.

He also headed the BJP’s information communication campaign committee and oversaw the publicity and advertising campaign of the party including the social media outreach for the General Elections 2014.

A noted investment banker, Goyal has also served on the Board of India’s largest public sector lender the State Bank of India and, Bank of Baroda. His father, Late Vedprakash Goyal was Union Minister of Shipping and the National Treasurer of the BJP for over two decades.

His mother Chandrakanta Goyal was elected three times to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Mumbai.

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will be the new Information and Broadcasting Minister in place of Smriti Irani, who has been taken off this ministry and retains textile. This is the second time that Irani has been moved from a key ministry as she was earlier shifted from the HRD Ministry to the relatively low-profile Textile Ministry.

S S Ahluwalia has been relieved of the charge of Minister of State in Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry and assigned a new portfolio of Electronics and Information Technology.

Alphons Kannanthanam has been relieved as Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He continues as Minister of State for Tourism.

Jaitley has undergone a kidney transplant surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Science and is expected to take another six to eight weeks to fully recover. The minister has been mostly working from home since early April.