Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in order to tackle the issues of rising unemployment and economic slowdown in the country, on Thursday constituted two high-level Cabinet Committees -- ahead of Union Budget 2019.

The first Budget of the Modi government 2.0 will be presented on July 5, 2019.

A total of eight Cabinet committees have been constituted -- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Security, Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth and Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.

But what exactly are these Cabinet committees meant for?

Cabinet committees are extra-constitutional bodies -- often termed as an essential technical administrative device.

Cabinet committees help in resolving issues cropping up between two departments or ministries by preparing a common ground. This, in turn, reduces the workload of the Union Cabinet.

These committees are formed in accordance with the Government of India Transaction of Business Rules, 1961.

According to article 77(3) of the Constitution, the President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business.

This simply translates to -- the prime minister-led Union Cabinet can constitute committees of Cabinet drawing members from various ministries. Besides permanent members, there can be some special invitees to these cabinet committees.

The addition of the two committees in PM Modi's new Cabinet is indicative of the new focal point for the government -- creation of new jobs.

The eight committees are:

1. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet: This panel will make appointments to posts of the three service chiefs, Director General of Military Operations, Director General of Defence Intelligence Agency, Chief Vigilance Officers in Public Sector Undertakings and Secretariat posts of and above the rank of Joint Secretary in the Central Government.

• Prime Minister
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs

2. Cabinet Committee on Accommodation: This panel will deal with the allotment of government accommodation.

• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Minister of Commerce and Industry

Special Invitees

• Jitendra Singh, Minister of State(I/C) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; 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
• Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State(I/C) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Minister of State(I/C) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs: This panel will deal with reviewing economic trends and problems. It will also consider proposals for investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

• Prime Minister
• Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
• DV Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs
• Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Minister of Rural Development: and Minister of Panchayati Raj
• Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; and Minister of Law and Justice
• Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries
• Subrahamanayam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Minister of Commerce &Industry
• Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel

4. Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs: This panel will draw the schedule for Parliament sessions and monitor the progress.

• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs.
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs
• Ramvilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Minister of Rural Development: and Minister of Panchayati Raj
• Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; and Minister of Law and Justice
• Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment
• Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Minister of Information and Broadcasting
• Prahlad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal and Mines

Special Invitees

• Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
• V Muraleedharan, Minister of State Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs

5. Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs: This panel will address problems related to Centre-state relations.

• Prime Minister
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs
• Shri Ramvilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Minister of Rural Development: and Minister of Panchayati Raj
• Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; and Minister of Law and Justice
• Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries.
• Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health & Family Welfare; Minister of Science & Technology; and Minister of Earth Sciences,
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Minister of Commerce and Industry
• Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise
• Prahlad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal and Mines

 

6. Cabinet Committee on Security: This panel will deal with issues relating to law and order, internal security and policy matters concerning foreign affairs with internal or external security implications.

• Prime Minister
• Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs
• Dr Subrahamanayam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs

 
7. Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth: This panel will identify key projects required to be implemented on a time-bound basis, involving investments of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or any other critical projects.

• Prime Minister.
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry

 
8. Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development: This panel will provide direction to all policies, programmes, schemes and initiatives for skill development aimed at increasing the employability of the workforce.

• Prime Minister
• Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs
• Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Minister of Rural Development: and Minister of Panchayati Raj
• Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry
• Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Minister of Human Resource Development
• Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum &Natural Gas: and Minister of Steel
• Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill development and Enterpreneurship
• Santosh Kumar Gangwar, MOS (I/C) Labour and Employment
• Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Minister of State(I/C) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Special Invitees

• Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries
• Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development and Textiles
• Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) Culture, MOS (I/C) Tourism

(With inputs from agencies)