President Droupadi Murmu directed the allocation of portfolios to 72 members of the Union Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister.

Signalling continuity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi retained Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar in charge of the four high-profile ministries — Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs — respectively in his new government.

The four ministers in charge of these portfolios make up the crucial Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister.

What is a Cabinet Committee?

• Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional, meaning, they are not mentioned in the Indian Constitution. 

• Cabinet committee is a group of ministers which can take collective decisions that are binding across various ministries/departments. They are partly designed to reduce the burden on the Union Cabinet by allowing smaller groups of ministers to take decisions on specific policy areas. 

• The Cabinet Committees are constituted or reconstituted when a new government takes over or the Cabinet undergoes a reshuffle.

• The Prime Minister constitutes Standing Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the specific functions assigned to them.

• The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in ministries/departments of the government.

• This Secretariat provides secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees, and also assists in decision making in government by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst ministries/departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/ad hoc committees of secretaries. Through this mechanism new policy initiatives are also promoted.

Cabinet Committee on Security

The Cabinet Committee on Security is the country’s highest decision-making body on security affairs.

Members of the Cabinet Committee on Security:

i) PM Narendra Modi

ii) Rajnath Singh

iii) Amit Shah

iv) Nirmala Sitharaman

v) S.Jaishankar.

Functions of the Cabinet Committee on Security include:

• Deal with all defence related issues.

• Deal with issues relating to law and order, and internal security.

• Deal with policy matters concerning foreign affairs that have internal or external security implications including cases relating to agreements with other countries on security related issues.

• Deal with economic and political issues impinging on national security.

• Review the manpower requirements relating to national security including proposals concerning creation of posts carrying the pay scale or pay band plus Grade Pay equivalent to that of a joint secretary to the government of India and higher, and setting up new structures to deal with security related issues.

• Deal with all matters relating to atomic energy.

Union Council of Ministers

• Articles 74 and 75 deal with the Council of Ministers.

• Article 74(1) states that: “There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.”

• Article 75(1) states that: “The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.”

• The Prime Minister decides who will be the ministers in the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister allocates ranks and portfolios to the ministers. 

• The Council of Ministers comprises ministers who are members of Cabinet, Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.

• Depending upon the seniority and political importance, the ministers are given the ranks of Cabinet Minister, minister of State and deputy minister.

• Cabinet Ministers hold high-profile portfolios. It is these ministers who constitute the Cabinet, which has been described as “a wheel within a wheel”. 

• The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha.

• President Murmu administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy to the 72-member Council of Ministers on June 9. 

Portfolios of the Union Council of Ministers

• Narendra Modi - Prime Minister and also in-charge of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, all important policy issues, and all other portfolios not allocated to any minister.

• Rajnath Singh - Minister of Defence

• Amit Shah - Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation

• Nitin Gadkari - Minister of Road Transport and Highways

• J.P. Nadda - Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan - Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Minister of Rural Development.

• Nirmala Sitharaman - Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs.

• S. Jaishankar - Minister of External Affairs

• Manohar Lal Khattar - Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Minister of Power.

• H.D. Kumaraswamy - Minister of Heavy Industries and Minister of Steel.

• Piyush Goyal - Minister of Commerce and Industry

• Dharmendra Pradhan - Minister of Education

• Jitan Ram Manjhi - Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

• Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh - Minister of Panchayati Raj and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

• Sarbananda Sonowal - Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

• Virendra Kumar - Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment

• Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu - Minister of Civil Aviation

• Pralhad Joshi - Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Minister of New and Renewable Energy.

• Jual Oram - Minister of Tribal Affairs

• Giriraj Singh - Minister of Textiles

• Ashwini Vaishnaw - Minister of Railways, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

• Jyotiraditya M. Scindia - Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region.

• Bhupender Yadav - Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat - Minister of Culture and Minister of Tourism.

• Annpurna Devi - Minister of Women and Child Development

• Kiren Rijiju - Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Minority Affairs.

• Hardeep Singh Puri - Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas

• Mansukh Mandaviya - Minister of Labour and Employment and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

• G. Kishan Reddy - Minister of Coal and Minister of Mines

• Chirag Paswan - Minister of Food Processing Industries

• C.R. Patil - Minister of Jal Shakti

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

• Rao Inderjit Singh - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture.

• Jitendra Singh - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space.

• Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

• Jadhav Prataprao Ganpatrao - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayush; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• Jayant Chaudhary - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education. 

Ministers of State

• Jitin Prasada - Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

• Shripad Yesso Naik - Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

• Pankaj Chaudhary - Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance

• Krishan Pal - Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation

• Ramdas Athawale - Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

• Ram Nath Thakur - Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

• Nityanand Rai - Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs

• Anupriya Patel - Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

• V. Somanna - Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

• Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani - Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications.

• S. P. Singh Baghel - Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

• Shobha Karandlaje - Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

• Kirtivardhan Singh - Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.

• B. L. Verma - Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

• Shantanu Thakur - Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

• Suresh Gopi - Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism.

• L. Murugan - Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

• Ajay Tamta - Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

• Bandi Sanjay Kumar - Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs

• Kamlesh Paswan - Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development

• Bhagirath Choudhary - Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

• Satish Chandra Dubey - Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines.

• Sanjay Seth - Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence

• Ravneet Singh - Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

• Durgadas Uikey - Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

• Raksha Nikhil Khadse - Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports 

• Sukanta Majumdar - Minister of State in the Ministry of Education; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.

• Savitri Thakur - Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development

• Tokhan Sahu - Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

• Raj Bhushan Choudhary - Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti

• Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma - Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel.

• Harsh Malhotra - Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

• Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya - Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

• Murlidhar Mohol - Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

• George Kurian - Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

• Pabitra Margherita - Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles.

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