Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 10 distributed portfolios to his new ministers, altogether 71 of them. This is the third consecutive term of the BJP-led National Democratic alliance (NDA) at the Centre, under the leadership of Modi. The new Team Modi comprises 30 cabinet ministers, five ministers of state with independent charge, and 36 ministers of state. Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari retained their key portfolios in the third term of the NDA government. At least 43 ministers have served in the Parliament for at least three or more terms in their previous stints, bringing a wide range of experience with them.
Modi is the only second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for a third term in office in a row. A first look at the Union cabinet shows a conscious effort to cover all corners of the country as the ministers hail from as many as 24 states. The ministerial allocations in the coalition government under Modi have been done to strike a regional balance while also addressing caste equations. The formation and structure of Modi 3.0 shows a pan-India representation and also adequate focus on the alliance partners. The caste equations have also been factored as out of 71 ministers, 27 hail from the Other Backward Class (OBC), 10 from the Scheduled Caste (SC), 5 from the Scheduled Tribe (ST), and 5 from the minority community.
Nirmala Sitharaman’s reappointment as Finance Minister signals policy continuity. All eyes will now be on the full Budget for 2024-25 wherein she is expected to strike a balance between continued fiscal consolidation while addressing India’s weaker rural growth and consumption levels. Nitin Gadkari’s reappointment as Minister for Road Transport and Highway based on his proven track record reflects a continuity in the policy of the Modi 3.0 government as India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy. Gadkari has played a key role in implementing Modi’s economic policy of accelerating GDP growth through massive investments in big infrastructure projects that has taken India from the fragile five to the top five economies in the world.
While the composition of the cabinet showcases a delicate balance of caste dynamics within the BJP-led NDA government, the composition of the new cabinet under Prime Minister Modi indicates policy continuity at the moment. The Union budget is likely to highlight the policy direction which we expect to remain largely unchanged. The government is likely to pursue fiscal consolidation and prioritise investments and capital expenditure. India’s economic fundamentals remain strong. Reforms in India have generally survived the test of politics and we expect the government to continue the pace of governance and administrative reforms, leaving states to work around the more intractable reforms around land and labour.
