NEW DELHI : The much-awaited reshuffle of the Union Cabinet is expected sometime this week, with some ministers likely to be inducted into the Cabinet while some others could be promoted from the post of Minister of State to a Cabinet Minister.
Speculations are also rife that some of the present ministers in the Union Cabinet could be dropped for their non performance. While there have been speculations of a possible reshuffle of the Union Cabinet since the last few weeks, they have gained ground after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday carried out a performance appraisal of his council of ministers.
The PM held a nearly four hour-long marathon meeting of his Council of Ministers, at which each ministry presented its performance report of the past two years and plans for the future.
Sources said that at the meeting of his council of ministers, the Prime Minister updated himself on how the budgetary allocations were being spent by various ministries, and directed the ministers to ensure that the benefits of the government schemes reached the common man.
He reviewed the progress of the ministries, especially regarding implementation of the various promises made in the BJP election manifesto.
Top officials of the ministries made power point presentation before the Prime Minister on the work done and to be done by the various departments.
The June 30 meeting has heightened speculations of Cabinet rejig , ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on July 18. Infact, reports suggest that the reshuffle might take place anytime before July 7, when the Prime Minister embarks on his visit to the African nations.
The reshuffle is being seen as an effort by Prime Minister Modi to overhaul his cabinet ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections to several states, including Punjab, Goa , Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
It is also being seen as a move to streamline the working of the Government before the commencement of the Monsoon session of Parliament. At present the Union Council of Ministers have 64 ministers , including the Prime Minister.
These include 27 cabinet ministers, 12 ministers with independent charge and 25 in the rank of minister of state.
Sources say that there is no likelihood of any change in the top four slots- Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
According to sources, some ministers could be upgraded from the post of minister of state to a full fledged Cabinet minister for their good performance.
According to sources, some ministers who have crossed the age of 75 could face the axe in view of the 75 year age limit fixed by Mr Modi for his Cabinet .
The reshuffle is also being held to fill the position in the Cabinet left vacant by the resignation of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was sworn in as the chief minister of Assam after the BJP’s victory in the Assam assembly polls..
Mr Modi last reshuffled his council of ministers in November 2014, when Mr Suresh Prabhu and Mr Manohar Parrikar were inducted into the Cabinet as Railway Minister and Defence Minister respectively.
Sources say that the latest reshuffle was a performance appraisal of the existing ministers. (AGENCIES)
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