India’s Modi appoints 19 new cabinet ministers in first reshuffle since taking office
Size of cabinet swells to 78 contrary to 2014 election promise of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted 19 new ministers into his cabinet on Tuesday to bolster his two-year-administration but drew criticism that he was backtracking on a promise of lean government.
The ministers, announced by the government, were sworn-in at a ceremony at the presidential palace but their portfolios were not immediately announced.
A top government source told Reuters that Modi had dropped five of cabinet colleagues. A formal announcement on the changes was expected later on Tuesday.
With the expansion, the size of Modi’s cabinet has swelled to 78 – one of the biggest in years and a far cry from Modi’s 2014 election promise of “minimum government and maximum governance”.
If this was a reform-minded government, you would be reducing the numbers of people and portfolios, shedding ministries,” said Manoj Joshi, a political expert at Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.