Modi 3.0: Who secured India's key ministries: Home, foreign, defence and finance?

After some strategic manoeuvring, the allocation of ministerial portfolios in India is finally out, with some key ministries assigned to big names that retained the roles they held in the Modi 2.0 cabinet. Crucial ministries in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet include the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of External Affairs.

S Jaishankar, who spearheaded India's diplomatic strategy throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict once again gets External Affairs Ministry. With no changes seen in the big four ministries, Rajnath Singh once more gets Defence Ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Ministry and Minister of Corporate Affairs whereasAmit Shah gets Minister of Home Affairs and Ministry of Cooperation.

These four ministries are the members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which oversees debates within the national security apparatus. CCS also holds sway over pivotal decisions concerning important appointments, and national security issues.

The CCS is responsible for formulating policies related to security and defence, making decisions on defence expenditure and handling matters of national security significance. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the security and defence preparedness of India.

In the Modi 2.0 cabinet, the Ministry of Home was held by Amit Shah, the Ministry of Defence was held by Rajnath Singh, External Affairs by S Jaishankar, and Ministry of Finance by Nirmala Sitharaman.

In PM Modi's first cabinet, Rajnath Singh held home ministry, defence was held by Nirmala Sitharaman, late Sushma Swaraj held external affairs and finance was given to late Arun Jaitley.

Modi on Monday (June 10) held his first cabinet meeting after taking the oath the previous day. Major faces seen during the meet also included Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, JP Naddaamong others.

(With inputs from agencies)