Anurag Thakur on Wednesday was appointed as the new Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in a major Cabinet rejig. The portfolio was earlier held by Kiren Rijiju, who has been made the Union Minister of Law and Justice.
Thakur has also been given charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. "I am honoured to serve the people of India as a Union Cabinet minister and take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Sh @narendramodi Ji for entrusting me with this responsibility," tweeted Thakur.
Thakur's appointment as the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister comes days before the commencement of the Tokyo Olympics, which had been postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Thakur was the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) between May 2016 and February 2017. His brother, Arun Dhumal, is currently the treasurer of the BCCI.
In 2016, Thakur became the first serving BJP Member of Parliament to become a regular commissioned officer in the Territorial Army. He was also the youngest president of the Himachal Pradesh State Cricket Association at the age of 25.
In a major overhaul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought in Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Jyotiraditya Scindia in the Cabinet while dropping as many as 12 ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
