As it happened: Four Ministers elevated to Cabinet rank; nine new MoS sworn in

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Ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today undertook the third major revamp of the Union Cabinet with the induction of nine new ministers including two former bureaucrats, one retired diplomat and an ex-police official. Also, four Ministers of State -- Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman -- got promoted to the Union Cabinet.

Nirmala Sitharaman was on Sunday named India's Defence Minister in a reshuffle-cum-expansion of his ministry carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that also saw Piyush Goyal take charge of Indian Railways. Of the other two new Cabinet ministers, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan got additional charge of Skill Development Entrepreneurship while Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi retained the Minority Affairs Ministry.

Suresh Prabhu, who lost his Railway portfolio, has been shifted within the Cabinet to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, earlier held by Sitharaman. Nitin Gadkari, who was holding Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, will also head the Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry. Cabinet minister Uma Bharti, who lost the Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, is now left with Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Also Read: Modi Cabinet reshuffle: Pradhan, Piyush, Sitharaman, Naqvi get elevated to Cabinet ranks

As it happened: 

# It is very big responsibility. To me, very overwhelming day, just can't express my feelings. What is more important is there are going to be 2 women in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Sushma-ji & me. Have to prove and perform to satisfy the goals which are expected of me. In all probability, it (taking charge) will be on Sept 6: Sitharaman

​# I will continue for next two days to participate in the security dialogue and Sitharaman will take charge of ministry as soon as dialogue ends. Prime Minister has set the bar very high. It's clear that he is very closely monitoring performance of each ministry and individual: Jaitley

# I am sure, now that I have an extremely competent successor in Nirmala Sitharaman, she will carry the road forward. I'll leave tonight for Japan. New Defence Min should've been going but logistically doesn't seem possible, today being a Sunday: FM Jaitley

# Have to take care of the responsibility given under the leadership of PM: Ashwini Kumar Choubey, newly appointed MoS Health & Family Welfare

# Considering population of our country, employment is an important aspect. Thankful to PM: Santosh Gangwar, new Labour and Employment Minister

# My gratitude to PM for reposing faith in me and giving me a very important ministry. Appeal to all sports federations, lets keep sportsmen as most important person, everything else will fall into place later...: New Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

# It's a challenge. PM & party have shown confidence in me to meet this challenge: RK Singh, newly appointed Power Min on problems in power sector

02:20 pm: 

02:20 pm: 

01:55 pm: Ashwini Kumar Choubey gets MoS Health and Family Welfare; Anant Kumar Hegde appointed MoS Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

01:50 pm: Vijay Goel will be MoS Parliamentary Affairs and MoS Statistics and Program Implementation.

01:43 pm: Gajendra Singh - Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

01:42 pm: Aphons Kannanthanam - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

01:42 pm: Hardeep Singh Puri - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

01:42 pm: Raj Kumar Singh - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

01:42 pm: Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore - Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

01:41 pm: Dharmendra Pradhan - Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

01:40 pm: Smriti Irani - Minister of Textiles; and Minister of Information and Broadcasting

01:39pm: Nitin Tomar: Minister of Rural Development; Minister of Panchayati Raj; and Minister of Mines.

01:37 pm: Uma Bharti - Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation

01:36 pm: Suresh Prabhu - Ministry of Commerce and Industry

01:36 pm: Nitin Gadkari - Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Shipping; and Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

01:35 pm: Jaitley gets Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs

01:33 pm: R K Singh becomes MoS with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines

01:31 pm: Hardeep Puri becomes MoS for Husing an Urban Affairs: Sources

01:30 pm: Petroleum Minister Dharmendra pradhan agets additional portfolio of Skill Development

01:28 pm: Nitin Tomar gets Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines: Sources 

01:26 pm: Uma Bharti gets Drinking Water and Sanitation: Sources

01:25 pm: Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari gets additional portfolio of Water Resources and Ganga: Sources

01:18 pm: Smriti Irani gets Informaion and Broadcast Ministry: Sources

01:14 pm: Suresh Prabhu gets Commerce Ministry: Sources

01:13 pm: Nirmala Sitharaman becomes new Defence Minister: Sources

01:03 pm: 

12:26 pm: 

12:10 pm: 

12:01 pm: Arun Jaitley to continue tol hold Defence Ministry. Will leave for Japan as India's Defence Minister 

11:59 am: Govt's image already tarnished. Whatever changes they make, it's tough to rebuild the image: Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress 

11:57 am: All eyes are one who will get the Railways and Defence Portfolios. After Suresh Prabhu's farewell tweet, speculations are rife that Piyush Goyal will become the new Rail Minister 

11:52 am: 

11:41 am: 

11:39 am: 

11:38 am: Thanks to all 13 Lacs+ rail family for their support,love,goodwill.I will always cherish these memories with me.Wishing u all a great life, tweets Suresh Prabhu 

11:23 am: 

11:05 am: 

11:00 am: 

10:57 am: 

10:56 am: 

10:54 am: 

10:50 am: Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh Virendra Kumar takes oath as minister of state

10:45 am: 

10:43 am: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi takes oath. 

10:43 am: Nirmala Sitharaman takes oath as Cabinet minister

10:41 am: 

10:40 am: Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal get elevated to Cabinet, take oath as Cabinet ministers 

10:30 am: 

10:23 am: 

09:50 am: 

09:44 am: Unhappy with not being given place in the Cabinet, Shiv Sena says it will not attend the oath taking ceremony.  

09:35 am: Ministers of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Jitendra Singh are likely to be given more responsilities.  

09:34 am: Reports suggest that Piyush Goyal is tipped to take over as Railways Minister.  

09:20 am: I am grateful to the PM for making me a part of his team, says Hardeep Singh Puri, former diplomat

9:00 am: https://twitter.com/ANI/status/904184077112053760

08:59 am: According to India TV sources, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Nirmala Sitharaman are likely to be elevated to the Union Cabinet. This means that thirteen, and not nine ministers, will be inducted into the Union Cabinet today.    

08:34 am: The major revamp of the Cabinet is said to based on the formula of 4P – Passion, Proficiency, Professional and Political acumen – for progress. 

07:23 am: 

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