Cabinet changes may be announced before July 6, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Africa. (File photo)
Highlights
- Ministers are expected to make presentations on work done in two years
- Portfolios of senior ministers may change, new ministers could be added
- Cabinet reshuffle likely before July 6 when PM leaves for Africa
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a marathon five-hour meeting with his ministers today for a detailed performance assessment ahead of a likely cabinet reshuffle that could see changes in key ministries.
Sources said the Prime Minister reviewed the implementation of policies of each department, with the ministers making the presentations regarding the work done over the two years since the BJP-led government came to power. Senior officers made presentations regarding the budget utilization.
Indicating that some ministries were lagging behind, PM Modi said they should work expeditiously and come up with "out of the box" thinking. He directed his council of ministers to "ensure the delivery of policies to the last denominator," sources added.
Speculation over the changes had peaked last night as PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah met for more than five hours. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was expected to attend that meeting but was not present, sources said.
Portfolios of senior ministers may change, sources say, and new ministers could be added in the revamp, which could be announced before July 6, when the Prime Minister leaves for Africa.
The changes will coincide with an organisational shake-up in the BJP. Amit Shah is also likely to reconstitute his team in the first week of July, sources say.
In the government, Ministers of State Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan may be promoted to cabinet rank. Mr Goyal's shift to a more high profile ministry has been speculated upon for months.
A few vacancies are likely to be filled. Sarabananda Sonowal moved to Assam as Chief Minister; Raosaheb Patil Danve resigned after he was appointed Maharashtra BJP chief. Junior ministers are to be added for states headed soon for elections like Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Law Minister Sadananda Gowda, whose performance has reportedly been seen as disappointing, may get a strong minister of state.
The Council of Ministers cannot exceed 82 ministers; currently, it has 66 members including PM Modi. A dozen cabinet ministers are from Uttar Pradesh, which votes next year. The result from India's most populous state will be used to measure the likely result of the next general election in 2019.