Modi clubs 17 ministries

The 17 related ministries have been combined into seven different groups, including some infrastructure departments, in a bid to ensure synergy and better results.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday combined 17 related ministries into seven different groups, including some infrastructure departments, in an apparent bid to ensure synergy and better results.

First, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, created by the United Progressive Alliance government, has been brought together with the External Affairs Ministry under Sushma Swaraj while corporate affairs has been brought back to Finance under Arun Jaitley.

In infrastructure sector, the prime minister has combined Road Transport and Highways and Shipping in the ministry to be headed by Nitin Gadkari, who had made a name for himself by adopting an innovative approach in expanding the road transport network and bridges in Maharashtra when he was a minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government in the state in the late 1990s.

Another important infrastructure combination is bringing together Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy under the independent charge of Minister of State Piyush Goyal. These used to be separate ministries with Cabinet ministers in charge in the United Progressive Alliance governments.

The prime minister will also look after 'all important policy issues' and all other portfolios not allocated to any minister, said an official communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Members of BJP allies in the National Democratic Alliance have been given four ministries. Anant Geete of the Shiv Sena gets heavy industries and public enterprises; Ashok Gajapathi Raju of the Telugu Desam Party gets civil aviation; Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janashakti Party consumer affairs, food and public distribution; Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal the food processing industry.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, the star of the BJP's victory in Delhi, has been given the Health portfolio while Smriti Irani will look after the Human Resources Development.

Former Karnataka chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda was given the Railways ministry while lawyer Ravi Shankar Prasad has been given Law, Communication and Information Technology.