Wion Web Desk

Trump administration refunds $100 billion in tariffs after Supreme Court ruling

The Royals enter the Doctor Who universe: King Charles and Queen Camilla beam into Commonwealth Games in TARDIS

American blogger Perez Hilton, covered in blood, cuts himself during livestream, hospitalized after distressing incident

'I was almost trafficked in Paris,' says Australian woman, shares terrifying ordeal - 'I am on the black market'

India avoids higher US tariff, secures lower 10% rate. Here's how

Pradeep Rawat died at 74: Revisit the unforgettable roles that defined his career

'Affront to our sovereignty': Bangladesh slams India over Sheikh Hasina's Delhi press conference

Lightning bolt strikes football field in Thailand, killing a player during a match

Mark Zuckerberg apologises to Indian government over harmful content, platform errors amid PM video row

Sajeeb Wazed raises Indian security concerns, calls Bangladesh a 'failed state'

Who is Shreya Kalra? Meet the social media star who lifted the Lock Upp 2 trophy

The genetic roots of Tamils: 75,000 DNA markers decoded in latest study of Sangam-era settlement

Why are iPhones so expensive compared to Android phones?

Trump says Iranian school bombing photos could be AI-generated - 'I don’t think...'

Did Trump's helicopter nearly collide with a passenger jet? US launches probe

Jharkhand student protest: Sonam Wangchuk urges Devendra Mahato to end waterless hunger strike

'Dhoni Made Fleming Great': Panesar says ECB made the wrong choice for England Test coach

'Aimed at BJP, not students': Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on 'lathi-charge' remarks amid police exam protest

Childhood home of Neil Armstrong up for sale | Gravitas

Ex top Pakistan official blames economic woes on China: Here's how CPEC became a failure

‘Pakistan called for ceasefire, we kept them waiting’: Ex-CDS Anil Chauhan recalls Operation Sindoor

Munir-protege Mohsin Naqvi’s claim of unearthing huge scam triggers tremors in Pakistan’s power corridors

Pentagon draws up new nuclear strategy in the event of war with Russia and China

What’s happening in Nepal? How did a local clash turn into communal violence? WION Decodes

Scientists find descendants of ancient sea creatures trapped under Antarctica's Blood Falls

Trump goes 'bing bing bing' 11 times within 5 seconds at Iran war briefing

Strait of Hormuz deal with Oman being ‘finalised’: Iran’s foreign ministry

CJP's Saurav Das alleges YouTubers broke into his house, seeks Delhi Police action

$1.3 trillion vanished from chip stocks in days and demand never fell

Why Russian tanks are much lighter compared to US tanks

Lock Upp season 2: Most dramatic and viral moments that kept fans hooked

'World's most beautiful village' with only 627 people generated Rs 58 lakh in traffic fines in 2025

New OTT releases this week (August 3-9, 2026): Main Vaapas Aaunga, Uyir, Operation Safed Sagar- 6 titles coming on Netflix, Prime Video and more

Did military GPS jamming cause a plane to crash in New Mexico? Here's what a report says

India deploys joint outbreak response team as Chandipura virus spreads in Gujarat, Rajasthan

Ceaser Gastelum killed during TikTok livestream: What was his last recording?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today carried out a major expansion of his Council of Ministers, inducting 19 new faces, including several from the disadvantaged sections of India&#39;s caste riddled society as well as from poll-bound states like the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. 
 
Prakash Javadekar, who held the independent charge of environment, was promoted to the cabinet rank while all new inductees took oath as ministers of state. 
 
Today&#39;s exercise underlines the ruling- Party&#39;s attempt at wooing the disadvantaged sections, whose votes will be crucial to its fortunes in key northwestern states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. 
 
All barring Vijay Goel and Faggan Kulaste are new faces while a few have been ministers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state governments. 
 
Ajay Tamta, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Krishna Raj, Ramdas Athawale, Ramesh C were MPs sworn in as ministers by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan. 
 
Others who were inducted in the Modi government included Anupriya Patel, S S Ahluwalia, P P Chadudhary, C R Chaudhary, M J Akbar, J Bhabhor, Purshotam Rupala Mansukhbhai Mandaviya, S R Bhamre, Mahendra Nath Padey, A M Dave, Rajen Gohain. 
 
While Patel and Athawale are BJP allies, all others are from BJP. 
 
Among the 19 inductees, three MPs from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh took oath while four from Rajasthan were also sworn in. 
 
Five ministers of state were dropped: Nihalchand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Sanwar Lal Jat, Manuskhbhai D Vasva and M K Kundariya. 
 
Today&#39;s expansion took the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 78, four below the Constitutional bar of 82. The Council of Ministers can have a maximum of 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, which has 542 members. 
 
Official sources said the exercise was aimed at infusing more &quot;experience, expertise and energy&quot; into the government. 
 
The choices also underscore BJP&#39;s attempts to strengthen its vote base among the disadvantaged sections, party sources said, adding that states, where it has done well in the Lok Sabha polls and also where it faces state polls, have also now got ample representation. 
 
The &nbsp;party has been trying to woo the weaker sections ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh polls. 
 
(PTI) 
&nbsp;

india

 Central ministerial panel

 Indian cabinet

 indian prime minister

 Narendra Modi

 Council of Ministers

 South Asia News

 wionews.com

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today carried out a major expansion of his Council of Ministers, inducting 19 new faces, including several from the disadvantaged sections of India's caste riddled society as well as from poll-bound states like the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Prakash Javadekar, who held the independent charge of environment, was promoted to the cabinet rank while all new inductees took oath as ministers of state. Today's exercise underlines the ruling- Party's attempt at wooing the disadvantaged sections, whose votes will be crucial to its fortunes in key northwestern states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. All barring Vijay Goel and Faggan Kulaste are new faces while a few have been ministers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state governments. Ajay Tamta, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Krishna Raj, Ramdas Athawale, Ramesh C were MPs sworn in as ministers by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Others who were inducted in the Modi government included Anupriya Patel, S S Ahluwalia, P P Chadudhary, C R Chaudhary, M J Akbar, J Bhabhor, Purshotam Rupala Mansukhbhai Mandaviya, S R Bhamre, Mahendra Nath Padey, A M Dave, Rajen Gohain. While Patel and Athawale are BJP allies, all others are from BJP. Among the 19 inductees, three MPs from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh took oath while four from Rajasthan were also sworn in. Five ministers of state were dropped: Nihalchand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Sanwar Lal Jat, Manuskhbhai D Vasva and M K Kundariya. Today's expansion took the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 78, four below the Constitutional bar of 82. The Council of Ministers can have a maximum of 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, which has 542 members. Official sources said the exercise was aimed at infusing more "experience, expertise and energy" into the government. The choices also underscore BJP's attempts to strengthen its vote base among the disadvantaged sections, party sources said, adding that states, where it has done well in the Lok Sabha polls and also where it faces state polls, have also now got ample representation. The party has been trying to woo the weaker sections ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh polls. (PTI)

The exercise underlines the ruling- Party's attempt at wooing the disadvantaged sections, whose votes will be crucial ahead of state polls

Indian PM Narendra Modi's central ministerial panel expansion took the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 78, four below the Constitutional bar of 82.

Indian Prime Minister expands central ministerial panel, inducts 19 new faces

Indian PM Narendra Modi's central ministerial panel expansion took the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 78, four below the Constitutional bar of 82.

The exercise underlines the ruling- Party's attempt at wooing the disadvantaged sections, whose votes will be crucial ahead of state polls

About the Author

Wion Web Desk

Wion Web Desk

Trending Topics