Cabinet expansion: Anurag Thakur to be I&B Minister; also gets Youth & Sports Ministry

Former MoS Anurag Thakur, who was promoted to the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, has been allocated the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting portfolio. Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Thakur has also been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The 45-year-old Himachal MP earlier served as a Minister of State for Finance under Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In his previous successful stints, Anurag Thakur remained the BCCI chief from May 2016 to February 2017.

In another elevation, Lok Sabha MP Meenakshi Lekhi has been named MoS for External Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. Firebrand spokesperson of the BJP, Lekhi had won the high-profile New Delhi parliamentary constituency in the 2014 elections and was re-elected in 2019.

Besides the two leaders, newly inducted minister Pashupati Paras has been allocated the Food Processing Ministry. Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Hajipur, Paras is embroiled in a dispute with nephew Chirag Paswan over the control of Ram Vilas Paswan-founded Lok Janshakti Party.

Meanwhile, Parshottam Rupala, who had been serving as Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has now been elevated to the cabinet minister rank and given the charge of the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying portfolios. The 66-year-old Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat has earlier served as a minister in the state government. Rupala succeeds Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who will now handle the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj portfolios.

Union Cabinet expansion

The Union Cabinet reshuffle witnessed the dramatic exit of several high-profile leaders including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. 

The new Council of Ministers has more representation in terms of caste, religion, region, and experience than several other governments in the past. 11 women Ministers (2 in Cabinet), 27 OBCs (5 in cabinet), 8 STs (3 in Cabinet), and 12 SC members (2 in cabinet) have been made a part of the new Council of Ministers. Moreover, 13 lawyers, 6 doctors, 5 engineers, 7 civil servants, and 4 former CMs have also been made a part of the new Council of Ministers.