Cabinet reshuffle: Pradhan, Rathore take charge of their new ministries

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday took additional charge of Skill Development Ministry while former Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore took charge of Sports Ministry.

Pradhan replaced Rajiv Pratap Rudy as the Skill Development Minister. Rudy has been dropped from the cabinet to undertake organisational work in the wake of upcoming elections in Karnataka and Gujarat. Rathore replaced Vijay Goel, who was dropped from the cabinet, as the Sports Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted nine new members to his Council of Ministers on Sunday.

Arun Jaitley will continue to handle key portfolio of finance while Power minister Piyush Goyal was on Sunday given the charge of the railway ministry. Gadkari, who has handled Surface Transport with finesse has been given additional charge of Water Resources and more specifically Ganga Rejuvenation. Smriti Irani will hold full charge of Information and Broadcasting along with Textiles.The Modi Cabinet now has nine new ministers and four others have been given Cabinet berth. Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have been given Cabinet rank.